Illumianted Truth
by My Harlequin Romance
Summary: Missing antimatter, missing Cardinals, a strange order rising from the ashes. Kai Hiwatari knows only one person who can help but are they prepared the truth what will follow? finished
1. Chapter 1

_So a new story. Yeah I know I have one story on hold but I'm trying really hard to get rid of the writer's block there. Anyhoo this is in celebration for the up-coming release of __**Angels and Demon**__._

_Note: This does not tie in with __**The Search for Magdalene.**_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own anything done by Dan Brown or Beyblade. I do own any unless stated otherwise._

_**Warnings:**__ This story contains mild swearing, bloody deaths, Yaoi and Jemma in all her wacky glory. Enjoy!_

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**Illuminated truth**

**Chapter 1:**

_Riverdale_ boarding school was awash with students on their way to the next lesson of the day. Break had only recently finished and while most students were pleased about being back in lessons, some wanted lunch to roll on quicker. The topic of discussion was the absence of the student's most hated teacher, Miss Carp.

"I heard we have a brand new sub." one student informed their friends. The small group eyed the student closely. It was rare that the school ever branched out to other substitute teacher other then the spare teachers in the teacher's lounge.

"Does anyone know who they are?' Everyone shook their head. "Great! We could end up with a complete bitch like Miss Carp." the 2nd student grumbled. Their friend began to pick dirt out from under the nails and gave out a loud sigh.

"Assuming they're female." The class slowly became silent as the classroom door was slowly opened. The substitute teacher walked in backwards, nose buried inside a rather large graphic novel. Tucked under one arm were several different books and pieces of paper. The teacher, a female, set the books and papers down before finding out a book mark and saving their place in the graphic novel. Without a word, the teacher turned to the blackboard and quickly wrote down her name. Setting the chalk down on the desk, the female teacher turned to face the crowd and smiled widely.

"Hello Class. The names Miss Jemma Aeris Scott but since I hate being called Miss, you can call me Jemma." Jemma Aeris Scott lent down to examine the terrible hand-writing of Miss Carp and frowned. "Ah damnit! Headache!" she complained. Jemma straightened up and glanced over at the class. "Since I can't read the terrible scribble your teacher calles handwriting, can anyone tell me what you're studying at the moment." Jemma asked.

A shy hand was raised. Jemma nodded in the student's direction. "We were just starting to learn about the Knights Templar." The student answered. The class jolted when Jemma let out a high pitched squeal and clapped her hands together.

"Brilliant! The best subject for young minds to learn." she grinned.

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Nathan Ryu Hikaru took a large gulp of his coffee and set his coffee cup down to one side. He had been working on an old manuscript for what seemed like hours and his eye-sight was getting a little blurry. The manuscript had been sent to him by his mother in hope of him reading the writing. Nathan's mother, Sophia Hikaru, had no problem reading or speaking japanese despite being english herself, but the aging of the manuscript had made it difficult for her to read.

There came a small meow which pulled Nathan's attention away from his work. "What's wrong with you Pansy?" Nathan inquried, watching the white kitten. Pansy, who belonged to Jemma, had been the runt of a small litter. Jemma had instancly taken a shine to the little kitten and had bought him as a pet. Without his owner, Pansy had taken to lying on the window sill of the apartment Jemma and Nathan shared. "She won't be long. Just has to teach some brats about history and then she'll be home to feed you." Nathan informed. Pansy yanwed lazily and lay down to sleep.

The apartment phone gave out a loud shrill which did not disturb Pansy's slumber. Nathan frowned to himself and pulled away from the kitchen table. Rubbing his eyes, the half-japanese male picked up the phone. "_Moshi Moshi_."

_"Hello? Is this Jemma Aeris Scott?"_

Nathan moved to sit on the kicthen table. "No. Jemma isn't here right now. I'm her room-mate Nathan. Who is calling?" he answered. Nathan knew the voice of Jemma's father, Sean William Scott. This voice was completely new to him. There was a slight Russian hint to the voice and as far as Nathan knew he didn't know any russian people.

"Very well then. When she returns can you inform her that Kai Hiwatari phoned and he needs to speak with her. It's very you have a pen?"

Nathan grabbed one from the kitchen table and grabbed a spare sheet of paper. "Yeah." A number was rattled off down the phone which Nathan quickly wrote down. Before Nathan could reply, the dailing tone was long and dull in his ear. Nathan pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it in confusion. He set it back in place and shook his head.

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The history students chatted excitedly to one another about Jemma as they left for their next lesson. For once, those who hated History had actually enjoyed themselves. A few history students walked across the campus of the boarding school for P.E, talked excitedly to their friends. "So who is this sub?"

"There she is!" One student gleefully pointed out. In the boarding school carpark was a red motorbike. Sitting on the motorbike was Jemma. The gang of students ran up to her. "Hi Miss! Is this your bike?" The student inquried. Jemma smiled and nodded her head. She pulled on a leather jacket before pulling on her back-pack. "What make?"

"Honda GLX4454 AKA Phoenix." Jemma replied. She reached for her helmet. One student scratched their head.

"My dad knows all about bikes. That make's never been released here. You can only get it from China." They explained. Jemma nodded her head, wiping a finger print from the side of the helmet.

"I know. Got it from a friend in China. It was her old bike which she tuned up for me." Jemma looked over to the group. "Anyone here that gets a car or bike, there is only one rule to live by. Take care of the vechial and it'll take care of you." Jemma slipped the helmet on and saluted the group. They waved goodbye and stepped back. _Phoenix_ gave out a loud roar before Jemma took off out of the carpark and out of sight. The students watched the smoke rise in the air before leaving.

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Kai Hiwatari could not help but the watch the minutes tick away. He had hoped that Jemma was at home when he phoned. _This only causes more problems._ Kai grumbled to himself. The door to his office was knocked lightly. "Come in!" The door to Kai's office opened soundlessly and a petite bubblegum pink haired female entered the room.

"Sir, everything is in order. The freon cooling system in Aaron's room has been activated." the female stated. Kai nodded his head in acknowledgement. The female remained where she was, scratching her elbow a little. The silence was deafening in the room.

"Mathlida."

The female looked up. "Hmm...I mean....yes sir?"

Kai let a low sigh escape his lips. "I'm sorry." he muttered. Mathlida smiled sadly and nodded her head.

"As am I sir." With that Mathlida left Kai's office, leaving the russian to his thoughts.

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The door the apartment opened with the tiniest hint of a squeak. Nathan's attention was not drawn away from the telelphone conversation he was having. Pansy jumped from his perch and raced over to the door. "Hello baby." Jemma giggled and picked up the cat. Pansy gave out a meow. "Someone hungry?" The duo headed off to the kitchen where Pansy jumped onto the counter. Nathan waved quickly to his friend while continuing to talk in rushed Japanese. Jemma picked up the word _mother_ a few times but said nothing to her friend. Nathan finally hung up.

"So, how were the brats?" Nathan inquried, sitting back down at the kitchen table. Jemma pulled a face as she reached down to a cupboard. Nathan watched as she pulled out a cat food and Pansy's black and white bowl.

"They weren't brats. Some of them were actually enjoying the lesson." Jemma called over her shoulder. Nathan nodded his head a little. "Any phone calls for me today?" Jemma inquried. She placed the bowl infront of Pansy who wolfed down the food. Nathan nodded his head again.

"Someone named Kai Hiwatari rang. Said he needs to speak with you and it's important." Nathan glanced over to his friend and she reached for the phone. "Do you know someone called Kai?" he asked. Jemma let a sly grin appear on her face. The sheet of paper that had the number on was tacked to the wall besides the phone.

"Aww. Is someone getting jealous?" Jemma teased and punched the number into the phone. Nathan flipped his friend off. Jemma giggled. "Love you too darling." Her attention suddenly turned to the phone. "Hello? Hi, this is Jemma Aeris Scott. My room mate informed me that Kai Hiwatari had rang. Something about he needed to speak with me.....okay then...thank you."

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Kai Hiwatari glanced over to his office door when it swung open quickly. One of Kai's friends, Ian Papov, almost fell into the room. "What is it Ian?" Kai inquried. Ian struggled to catch his breath.

"Jemma Aeris Scott is on hold on line one Kai." He managed to get out. Kai nodded his thanks and reached for the phone. Placing the receiver next to his ear, the russian hit the _line one_ button.

"Jemma? Are you there?"

_"Of course I'm here dumbass! So hows my favourtie russian?"_

Kai growled a little to himself. "There is no time to be friendly Jemma. I called your home because you're the only person who can help." Kai retorted. Jemma hissed a little at his rude tone. Kai couldn't give a damn.

_"Haven't changed a bit have you? You seriously need to lighten up big time my friend or you'll end up like my grandmother Armstronge. Just a sad old person...._

"Jemma! We've had a murder at the Biovolt company. He was branded on the chest and we need your help in figuring out who did it." Kai took a sharp intake of breath to calm his nerves. "There's a black car waiting outside your home. The driver is a friend of mine. He will bring you straight here." he added. Jemma tutted.

_"Oh all right. Must be big if I'm getting involded. See you soon."_ Jemma was the first to hang up. Kai sighed to himself and placed the phone back down.

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Spencer Sugita eyed the female who left the block of apartments. She wour a pair of very baggy black jeans, one pant leg had a huge hole on the knee. With it was a dark purple hoodie and a pair of old tarnished purple skater pumps. The female paused and looked round before spying the car. "You a friend of Kai Hiwatari?"

Spencer nodded his head. "You must be Miss Scott." he paused and opened the door to the car. "Please. We don't have much time." Spencer opened the passenger door for Jemma who smiled politly and climbed inside. Spencer noted the old back-pack that Jemma had with her. The dark green bag look slightly tarnished and had one too many hole in it. Spencer quickly shut the passenger door and made his way to the front. "I suggest buckling up Miss." Spencer grunted as he climbed in the door.

When the car sped off, Jemma wondered where her stomach had gone.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you to __**tachycardia, Lily Anne Michaels Lili93**__ &__** glitteredvixeno6**__ for your reviews!_

**Chapter 2:**

The _Biovolt_ building was unlike anything Jemma had ever seen. From what she could make out, the building looked like a neo-gothic monastery. Spencer pulled up to the gate as a guard walked towards the car. "Spencer Sugita." he stated holding out his I.D. The guard nodded his head and glanced over to Jemma who was too busy staring at the building.

"And her?"

"Jemma Aeris Scott. Here on orders from Kai Hiwatari." Spencer explained in a gruff voice that rivaled the guard's. There was silence before the guard nodded his head and left to open the gate. Spencer glanced over to Jemma through the rear-view mirror. Without warning, the car sped off again pulling Jemma back into the seat.

"Hey! Stop doing that!" Jemma complained. Spencer said nothing as he pulled into a large garage and stopped the car. Jemma unbuckled her seatbelt, opened the door and climbed outside. Jemma kicked the door of the car shut before she pulled on her back pack and straightened her hoodie out. Spencer stood silently.

"Miss Scott?"

Jemma turned to see a female walked quickly towards her. When she was close enough, the female held out a hand. "I'm Mathlida Alster. You may call me Mathlida. It is a pleasure to meet you." the female greeted. Jemma smiled in return, shaking Mathlida's hand quickly. It was the first real warm greeting she had had all day.

"Nice to meet you too Mathilda. Please just call me Jemma. Calling me Miss makes me sound old." Jemma chuckled. She followed Mathlida to a service lift with Spencer flanking her right. Mathlida hit the call button and waited.

"If it's not too rude....how old are you?" Mathlida inquried suddenly. She studied Jemma closely as the British girl tapped her foot a little. To Mathlida, Jemma didn't look _that_ old. Perhaps 25 or a tad younger. The lift crept closer to their level.

"I'm 23." Jemma stated as the lift doors opened. Standing on the other side was Kai who eyed the trio. Jemma's face broke out in a wide grin. "Darling! It's great to see you again!" Jemma cheered. She hurried into the lift to hug her old college friend but Kai was quick to move out of the way. Jemma pouted. "Damn it Kai! Lighten the hell up or so god help me...."

"I thought you were a atheist." Kai cut in. He waited until Mathlida and Spencer had entered the lift before hitting a level button. "Mathlida, Miguel has requested you downstairs. He's concered about the project." Kai informed. Mathlida bowed her head and whispered a small _'Yes sir.'_. Jemma remained behind the three and eyed each of them. "Spencer, I want you to go to the security room and check the cameras with Bryan." Spencer merely nodded his head. The silence in the lift was crushing. Jemma wondered how far they had gone down and searched her back-pack for her phone.

_Damn! We must be pretty far down._ Jemma concluded, looking at the none existance signal strenght on her phone. The lift gave a jolt and came to a stop. Spencer and Mathlida were out first no sooner had the doors opened. Spencer turned left while Mathlida continued straight down the corridor. Kai turned back to Jemma.

"If you'll follow me."

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Jemma followed Kai down the same corridor Mathlida had gone down. The short russian was clearly in a hurry and Jemma had to practically run to catch up. "Okay Kai, what's this all about? I was under the impression that someone was dead." Kai nodded his head.

"Someone is."

"So where are you taking me? Further more how in the name of mutant blue cheese can I help?" Jemma asked. Kai pulled a small piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Jemma. Once it was in her hands, she found it was photography. Jemma brought the photo closer to her face before stopping. Kai stopped as well and eyed her closely. Jemma had turned deathly pale. "This...This...." Jemma looked up at Kai. "What the hell?"

"That is how you can help. Aaron Cole of the Barthez Division was found murdered this morning. That was branded on his chest and one of his eyes was removed." Kai dug his hands deep into his trouser pockets. "We have yet to find his missing eye, which is troublesome. The brand however is different. No one know what it means." Jemmma stared at Kai closely.

"Are you telling me no one in this place has even heared of the _Illuminati_?" She asked. Kai stared at her before he continued to walk ahead. Jemma ran to catch up. "Hey! Answer my question!" Kai stopped outside a large room. To one side of the open door was what looked like a retina scan that had already been used. Jemma stopped next to Kai.

"Are you telling me that someone called the _Illuminati_ murdered a co-worker." the pair stepped inside the room. While Kai made mental notes of the room and the three other members of the Barthez Division were running around, Jemma had all her attention on Kai. She had half expected that Kai wouldn't understand who the group was.

_He studied advanced Science and Maths at College. He had no interest in history and secret groups. _Jemma reminded herself. "The Illuminati was founded in 1500s in Italy. The group was made up of freethinkers, scientists, physicists. They believed that the church's so called _truth_ threatened enlightenment around the world. They fought back against the church but things did not go well. A few members were kidnapped, tortured and branded on their chest with a cross. They were tossed out into the streets warning other people not to join the group." Jemma began. Kai shot an uneasy look towards the photography.

"What about the symbol?" He inquried. Mathilda and two males stopped and listened into the conversation. Jemma glanced down at the photo and winced a little. Even in a picture, it was still a grim sight to see.

"It's ambigram. It means it can be read both ways. But....The _Illuminati_ was disbanded! They've been disbanded for years. There is no way they could still be alive and functioning." Jemma argued. Kai frowned and turned to the Barthez Division.

"Anything missing?" He inquried. Miguel Konno checked his clip-board. After a while he shook his head. Kai was still tense.

"We haven't checked the storage room yet. We're heading down there now." Miguel informed. Kai nodded his head and followed after the group. Jemma ran to catch up. Miguel led the group down another corridor before the group desended down a small flight of stairs. Miguel gasped to himself. "God-damn it!" He was not the only one to rush inside the room.

"What was in here?" Jemma inquried. She waited behind with Kai as the three members of the Barthez Division rushed around inside the room. Kai couldn't believe that the murderer had entered even the lower levels. Jemma cast her attention on a second retina scan and followed a strange trail of red on the wall right down to the floor. "I think I found the missing eye." Jemma chuckled nervously. Kai followed Jemma's eye-line and blinked twice. Lying on the floor was Aaron's missing eye. Kai stepped closer, pulling a piece of fabric from his pocket.

"So that's how the bastard got in." The russian cursed and placed the fabric over the eye.

_"This is bad! Very bad!"_

Jemma frowned a little and stepped inside the storage room. It was cold but her hoodie did enough to keep her warm. "What's bad? What's going on?" she asked. The last male of the group, Claude Sasanuma, turned to look at Jemma.

"Our largest sample of antimatter is missing." Kai barreled into the room. Jemma raised an eyebrow in confusion. There was more of the stuff. She had seen three tennis ball can size containers upstairs. How the hell could there be more? Sensing her confusion, Claude explained further. "The missing container contains a quartar of a gram of antimatter."

"What!" All eyes were on Kai. "You had that much down here and you didn't tell anyone!" Kai yelled. Mathilda shrunk back behind Miguel, making herself small as possible. "Who had access down here?" Kai questioned. Miguel stepped forward, falling back into his role as leader of the Barthez Division.

"Only my team." Miguel began. Jemma glanced over her shoulder towards the door and muttered, _"So that explains about the eye."_ Miguel swollowed thickly. "Access to the above level and this level is only granted through a retina scan. Like you said sir, No-one knew about this." Kai's fist tightened.

"Well someone knew about it!" he yelled in reply. Jemma moved between the group in case anything got out of hand. They didn't need any further drama for now.

"Okay, take a step back and think for minute here. We don't need any fist fights although I would gladly watch." The others fell silent. Jemma let out a sigh. "Right, so we've got a dead guy upstairs that's been branded by the _Illuminati_ and a large amount of antimatter missing. Just great." Jemma turned to Miguel. "Wht kind of effect will this antimatter have?"

"Annihilation. The antimatter was kept in a vacummed container. Wherever this thing is, if it goes off there will a crater unlike you've ever seen." Miguel informed. Jemma chewed her bottom lip as Kai swore in russian behind her.

"Right. So how long have we got to find it before annihilation?"

"48 hours." Mathilda stepped out from behind Miguel. "The container has a battery supply that will last for 48 hours before it goes. We have no way of finding it from here." Jemma nodded her thanks and turned to Kai. Before she or the russian could say anything, another set of footstepps hurried down the stairs. A tall pale red head entered the room.

"Kai. The Swiss guards are on the phone. They request your pressences right now. It has something to do with a container branded with our name." The red head informed. Kai nodded his head.

"All right. Tala, assemble the team." Tala Ivanov saluted his friend and disappeared. Kai glanced over to Miguel. "You're team is coming too. Get everything ready." Pausing, Kai's attention fell on Jemma. "Is something wrong?"

"The Swiss guard? _The_ Swiss guard?" Kai stared at her in confusion. "Kai, don't you get it. The Swiss guard protect the Vatican city. The antimatter is in Vatican city!" Jemma squeaked.

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The Barthez Division and the Blitzkrieg Division waited for Kai on the heli-pad where two large black heli-copters waited. Kai made his way quickly towards the copters, followed by Jemma who still had to run to catch up. Over the sound of rotating blades, Kai barked orders before dragging Jemma to the first copter and climbed in. The Blitzkreig Division joined them while the Barthez Division climbed into the second copter. "So what are you going to do about Aaron's body?" Jemma yelled. The copter took off.

"It's fine where it is." Kai replied. Jemma raised an eyebrow.

"Fine where _he_ is? Dude, you left him in his room that now feels like a freezer! How the hell is that fine?" Kai gave no reply. His attention was focused on the outside world as they flew over. Jemma huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Still haven't changed at all. Bloody depressing bastard." she grumbled. The rest of the copter flight was filled with silence. Jemma had a very good ability, which she gotten from her grandfather, at noticing the little things. As Kai continued to stare out of the copter window, he scratched his wrist slowly. Jemma stared in confusion when she saw what looked like needle marks. _Kai, a druggie? Get real!_

Tala asked something in low russian which Jemma did not pick up. She watched the pair closely, noticing sparks of worry in Tala's ice blue eyes. Jemma shook all thoughts from her head. She pushed down the urge to ask Tala if he wanted to swap places. After a while of crushing silence, Jemma glanced out of her window and gasped to herself. They were already in Vatican city.

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Once the copter had touched down on the tarmac, The Blitzkreig Division plus Jemma moved quickly out of the copter. Not long after the Barthez Division joined them. The group had barely arrived when three guards walked quickly towards them. The first, a tall man who had a hard stare, stpped closer to Kai. "Are you Mister Hiwatari?" He inquried.

"I am."

The guard snorted. "You're a lot shorter then I thought." Glancing over to Jemma, he noted the large rip in her trousers. "Do you have any other pair of trousers?" he asked. Jemma raised an eyebrow before shaking her head. The guard tutted. The others glanced over to Jemma who remembered the poor taste Pope Pius IX had when he ordered every nude statue to have their genitalia hacked off. Pulling off her back-pack, Jemma slung the item at Kai.

"Hold this will ya. I've got an idea." Jemma muttered and began to look inside her bag. While she was busy the guards began to search the others. Finally Jemma pulled out a large square piece of cloth and sat down on the tarmac. The first guard pointed to the bag.

"I will need to search your bag." He stated. Jemma nodded her head, tying the cloth around her knee-cap to cover up the damage the rip had caused over the years. Since the piece of cloth had been black and red checked, it looked awful together but Jemma didn't really seem to care. Kai shook his head as his old college friend jumped up and was thankful that Jemma didn't actually have that much of a fashion sense. Once the bag was returned to her, Kai and Jemma were searched before the three guards nodded their heads. They were clean. Jemma eyed a symbol on one of the guard's jackets.

"You're not Swiss are you?" she asked. The guard stared blankly back. It was true that the guard looked nothing like the other two. "You a member of the _Tornatore_ guards, aren't you?" The guard continued to say nothing. The first guard motioned for them to follow before spinning on his heel and walking away. The group followed.

"How do you know of the _Tornatore_ guards?" The last member of the Blizkreig Division, Bryan Kuznetsov, asked. Jemma let a sly grin spread across her face. Bryan blinked twice. "What? You met the family or something?" he added. The grin got wider before Jemma nodded her head. Bryan stared in shock. "That's not possible! No-one gets to see that family, ever!"

Mathilda noted they were about to enter another two copters and bit her lip. Miguel, sensing her unease, grasped her hand tightly and smiled warmly. She returned it. "I was writing a book on the Knights Templar. Mostly about the myths that surrond them. During my research, I found that the _Tornatore_ family were linked to them." Jemma glanced over her shoulder at Bryan. "You'll just have to read the book to know more." She grinned. The gang boarded two more copters before racing off to the heart of Vatican City. Kai lent forward a little, scratching his wrist again.

"Have you found the container?" he yelled over the copter's blades. The guard stared at him in confusion. "The Swiss guards phone Biovolt and told us you have the container here. Have you found it?" Kai asked again. The guard shook his head.

"I don't know what you're talking about. My orders were to bring you to the Vatican. I have other problems to take care of." The guard informed.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you to __**Lily Anne Michaels Lili93**__ for her review_

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**Chapter 3:**

Vatican City was still as breath-taking as Jemma had remembered it. Being a reseacher of religious myths, Jemma had taken quiet a few trips into the center of Christian faith. Then it dawned on her she was actually going to enter **the** Vatican and everything started to spin.

_I'm going into the Vatican to stop an age old order from blowing it sky-high. Jeeze, wait until Grandpa hears about this._ Jemma chuckled to herself. The copters docked once more and the groups were hushed to awaiting cars. "If I may ask but what's the other huge problem?" Jemma inquried. The guards said nothing as the cars raced to the Vatican. Kai pulled out his phone and dailed a number.

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In the second car, Miguel pulled his phone into view and answered it. "Sir?"

_"How long do we have left?"_ Kai asked. Miguel mouthed the question to Mathilda who checked through certain data before giving him the results. Miguel cursed to himself.

"We have 40 hours to find the container sir." Miguel informed. Kai let a out sigh follwed by a quick _"Understood"_ before hanging up. Miguel could tell he was not happy.

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By the time both teams got to the Vatican, members of the Swiss guard was already up in arms. Stationed in front of the Vatican were two black vans. Both were unmarked. Bryan smiled to himself. "Right on time." he chuckled. Kai glanced over his shoulder, clearly understanding Bryan's idea.

"I take it that this is your doing."

Bryan nodded his head. "I took the liberty of ordering two of our vans here. Everything is loaded inside and waiting. The Vans are also armoured. Just in case." he explained. The Barthez Division were quick to their van. Bryan opened the back door of the first van allowing his team-mates in first. Jemma stood with her hands on her hips.

"Now wait just a cotten pickin' minute here! How the hell could these two vans get here before us? It's impossible." she pointed out. Bryan smirked to himself and shrugged a little. Tala was out of the van again and making his way towards Kai.

"Our business."

Jemma's smirk matched Bryan's. "Oh I get it. Just like _The Philadelphia Experiment_. Gotcha! Don't ask, don't tell." she giggled. Bryan disappeared inside the van leaving Tala and Kai talking. Jemma watched closely. Tala handed Kai something but their fingers touched a little too long. Jemma scratched her chin a little. She decided to keep quiet about it as Tala dashed off back to the van. "Whatcha got there slim?" Jemma inquried. In the palm of Kai's hand was a hands-free ear piece.

The duo were led up into Vatican. Jemma stared in amazment. All the letters she had written to get inside had been rejected but now....Jemma didn't notice that the guard had stopped and plowed right into him. He glared at her while she rubbed her nose and opened the door to the Swiss guard office.

It was Chaos.

The third guard who Jemma knew was a member of the _Tornatore_ guards left the duo. The second guard was also gone. The first silently ordered them to wait by the door and made his way cover to a tall man. The pair spoke quickly before the taller man's phone went off. The first guard came back. "Commander Placido will see you shortly." Kai nodded his thanks as the guard left. Commander Placido was only on the phone for a minute tops before making his way towards Kai and Jemma. Kai fixed the hands-free ear piece into his ear and checked if everyone in the vans could hear. He was pleased to know that they could.

"I am Comader Placido. You are?" He jabbed a finger at Jemma who seemed too interested in the room around her. Kai decided to answer for both of them.

"This is Jemma Aeris Scott. She's a symbolist. I am Kai Hiwatari, head of the Biovolt company. You phoned my office today. Something about a container with the logo of the company on." Kai answered. Placido sucked in some air through his teeth before nodding his head. He motioned for the two to follow and headed off to what looked like a control room. Kai grabbed Jemma's elbow and yanked her behind. Once infront of a large screen, Placido jabbed a finger at it.

"Explain."

Jemma's eyes widened as she stared at the antimatter container. Behind it the words _Illuminati_ were scrawled on the wall in big black letters. Her eyes traveled down to the counter and gulped. "Kai, I think the Barthez Division made a mistake. It says we only have 6 hours to find it." she informed. Kai glared at the screen before placing two fingers against the ear-piece. Mathilda had heard Jemma.

_"But that's impossible! We have 40 to 30 hours to find the container. It couldn't have changed that quick!"_ she exclaimed. Kai frowned. She did have a point. If the antimatter was set to go off in 48 hours, how in the name of hell could it have counted down so quick. Jemma pouted a little and glanced over to Kai.

"Maybe....whoever stole it messed around with the wires. They could have tampered with it." Before Kai could hear Mathilda's view, Placido's hard glare was on him again.

"Is this yours?" he asked. Kai nodded his head. "That what is it doing here?" Placido roared. Through the ear-piece Kai could hear the Barthez Division try to explain the sudden loss of time. Jemma continued to stare at the container.

"It was stolen from Biovolt early hours of this morning. The battery life of the container was 48 hours but it appears someone has tampered with it. I take it you have no idea where it is." Kai shot back. Placido's nostrails flared dangerously.

"Are you even aware what's happening right at this minute?" he inquried. Kai said nothing. He clearly did not know what was happening. Jemma, on the other hand, nodded her head while her eyes never left the screen. She had heard all about it that morning before leaving for work. It was one of the rare times she actually watched the news.

"_Conclave._ The pope died of a stroke and now you are in the middle of choicing another one." Jemma finally turned away from the screen. "You have to get everyone out of here before it goes." She was met with a dry laugh from Placido. Although Jemma had mostly been scorned and laughed at for her ideas, this type of laugh was the worst of all. "What the hell are you laughing at? Don't just stand there. Get everyone out!" Jemma yelled. Placido moved so he was inches away from her face. He was surprised that Jemma did not back down.

"We have not begun searching for your container." Kai's face paled further as Jemma stood rooted to the spot. "I have four missing Cardinals and I will not split up my forces to look for this thing. I do not like my security cameras tampered with, nor do I like strange objects appearing out of nowhere." he replied.

"Then let us see the _camerlengo_! We have to warn everyone!" Jemma insisted. Once again Placido laughed dryly. Kai clasped a hand on Jemma's wrist before she decided to strike the commander down.

"The _Camerlengo_ is in the office of the pope, preparing for _Conclave_." Placido stopped and turned his attention to another guard. He saluted before mutting something. Neither Jemma nor Kai caught a word. Placido nodded his head and looked at the duo. "My office now."

------------

Enrique Tornatore gave out a small sigh but did not move from his perch. The Tornatore household were over-joyed to learn that Santino Tornatore, Enrique's father, had been selected as one of the four possible options for Pope. Santino was the favourtie and everyone was sure he was going to be elected. The entire Tornatore household were Catholic although Enrique traded his faith for the women of Italy. His grandmother however was strictly Catholic.

At the moment Angelia Tornatore was in heavy prayer, asking for hope and support for her son. Enrique stood outside the room she was in and waited silently.

_"You can't lock us in here damn it!"_

The blond's ear perked up. He knew that voice. Enrique glanced round the corner of the wall he lent against and watched as Placido shoved a two-toned haired male into his office. The blue haired female remained where she was and continued to rant. Enrique squited slightly. He couldn't be sure if it was _her_.

_"Get your hands off me! I swear to the pagan gods if you don't let us see..."_ The female's rant was cut off when the door to Placido's offce was slammed shut and locked tightly. Enrique watched as Placido ordered a guard to stand watch before feeling a large shadow fall over him.

"Hey Lazzaro. Do you still have Placido's office number stored in your phone?" Enrique asked. Lazzaro, Ex-Swiss guard and Commander of the _Tornatore_ guards, nodded his head and fished his phone from his pocket. Lazzaro searched the number and hit dail before handing it to the smaller male. "Thanks." Enrique placed it to his ear.

------------------

"Let us out of here!"

Kai placed two fingers to the ear piece and listened to Mathilda. Kai didn't like what he heard. _"If I'm correct sir, Jemma's idea of someone tampering with the container is the only option. There is no way that we could have lost that much time."_ Mathilda informed. Jemma continued to pound on the door.

"Pagan gods help me, if you don't open this door....."

Jemma's threat was cut off when the phone in the office began to ring loudly. Both Kai and Jemma stared at the object before Jemma looked at Kai. The russian shook his head. Jemma had that look in her eyes. "Don't you dare!" Jemma was already moving to the phone. "Jemma, I'm warning you. Don't you dare answer that phone!"

"Hello?" Too late. Jemma had already answered it. Kai slapped a hand over his forehead and cursed in russian, calling Jemma every name he could ever think of.

_"I thought it was you when I heard you rant. How long has it been Jemma since you last visited?"_ The voice on the other end inquried. Jemma's eye lit up and a wide grin appeared on her face. Kai watched her. Whoever had phone did not want Placido. Jemma perched herself on the edge of the office desk.

"Enrique Tornatore. How have you been my woman chasing friend?" Jemma inquried. Enrique chuckled down the end of the phone. "Look I really need your help. I'm locked in a room with Kai Hiwatari. We need to talk to the _camerlengo_ about the time bomb they're sitting on. Can you get us out?" Jemma questioned.

_"Give me a sec."_ There came a shuffle on the other end of the phone.

-----------

"Grandma?"

Angelia finished her prayer before standing to her feet. Lazzaro kept his eyes peeled. "Is anything wrong Enrique?" The blond stepped closer to his grandmother. "Have you heard anything about your father and the other cardinals?" Enrique shook his head and Angelia sighed unhappily.

"You remember Jemma Aeris Scott don't you Grandma?" Angelia nodded her head. "Well...."

----------

Jemma placed the phone down much to Kai's surprise. "That was short." he muttered. Jemma said nothing to him and began to count down from 10. All of a suddenly that came a almight yell. Kai stared in surprise through the frosted glass to see what looked like a small women yelling at the guard outside.

_"I demand you release those two at once!"_

The guard remain firm. He explained as best he could that Placido had ordered him to stay guard. The woman was having none of it. _"Lazzaro! Open that door. I don't care how, just do it!"_ she ordered. A huge shadow fell infront of the door and began to jiggle with the lock. The other guard ordered for Lazzaro to stop but his orders came form Angelia and he continued. Finally there came a clunk and the door swung open. Jemma grinned at the large figure in the door way.

"Lazzaro! How you been you old fart?" Jemma asked. Kai blinked and looked at Jemma, clearly confused by the turn of events. Lazzaro smiled warmly and stepped aside to allow the two out of the room. Heavy footsteps was heard coming down the corridor. "Uh oh. Here comes trouble." Jemma squeaked and hid behind Lazzaro.

"What on earth is going on here?" Placido thundered. He glared at the guard he had left in charge who avoided his stare. Angelia stood in front of Lazzaro. Although pushing the grand old age of 67, Angelia was like most woman in the Tornatore family. She was firey when she needed to be. She glared heatedly at Placido.

"So it was you! Do you not know who she is?" Angelia inquried pointing to Jemma's half-hidden form. Placido wrinkled his nose while Kai began to quickly explain the turn of events to his team. "She is a great friend of the Tornatore family. Locking her away like an animal is disrespectful not only to my family but to the Vatican." Angelia took a deep breath. "Now, where is my son? Where are the other Cardinals?" she questioned. Placido did not look at her, instead finding something far more interesting on the wall. "Answer me!"

Kai coughed to gain their attention. "I do not mean to be rude but we have to see the _camerlengo_. Perhaps we could explain the events to you on the way." he pointed out. Angelia nodded her head, pleased the idea and led the duo to the Pope's office. Enrique flanked Jemma's right, talking excitedly to her. Lazzaro flanked Kai's left, keeping a silent watch on the pair. Placido followed closely behind, glaring at the group as they made their closer to the Pope's office.


	4. Chapter 4

_Thank you to __**SchoolBoredom**__ for her review!_

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

The Pope's office was as lavish as Jemma imagined. Enrique chuckled a little at her surpised looked. "I take it this was something you've always wanted to do." Jemma continued to stare at the ceiling before nodding her head. Placido pushed past her and headed towards a large wooden desk. Jemma and Kai glanced over, eyeing the _camerlengo _on the other side who clearly seemed bewildered.

"Hello nurse!" Jemma breathed. She was elbowed roughly in the side by Kai. He fixed her with a warning look but Jemma merely stuck her tongue out. The _camerlengo_ was a young man, way to young to even be in the Vatican. He wour nothing fancy, just the simple outfit of a priest. The _camerlengo_ listened closely to Placido before spying Angelia and stood up.

"Mrs Tornatore. I am sorry for the rude treatment of your friends. Clearly Commandor Placido had no idea of the disrespect he would cause." The _Camerlengo_ stated. Angelia bowed her head.

"Your Holiness. I do not hold the grudge to you." Angelia rose and turned to Jemma and Kai. "Is there something you wish to say to Father Edward?" she inquried. Kai glanced over to Jemma and rolled his eyes at her slightly drooling form. Trust Jemma to fall for a priest when the the Vatican could explode at any minute. Kai stepped forward and bowed his head.

"Father. My name is Kai Hiwatari. I am the owner of the Biovolt company. To cut a long story short, one of the company's antimatter containers was stolen and we believe it is somewhere underneath the Vatican." Kai glanced over to Jemma who remained fixed in her spot. "My friend, Jemma Aeris Scott, told Placido that he get everyone out but he laughed at the claim." Jemma spurred into action and moved to stand in front of the desk.

"We have to get everyone out despite that _Conclave_ is about to start." Father Edward held up a hand.

"My dear. _Conclave_ has already started." He informed. Kai and Jemma looked at each other with a mixture of shock and fear. The Priest sensed it. "Is something wrong?"

"But....that can't be." Jemma began. She turned back to Father Edward. "Placido told us the Cardinals were all missing. All four of them." Behind Angelia let out a strangled gasped and fell to the floor.

----------

The Vatican Switchboard Operator sighed loudly to herself and tried to get comfortable. Some days there was a none stop stream of phone calls. Other days, like today, there was nothing but silence. The Operator sighed again and lent back to stare at the ceiling.

Suddenly there came a bleeping. The Operator sprung into action. "Hello?" The voice on the other end was calm and collected. There was something else about it as well. Something that didn't sit well at all. The Operator continued to listen in unease before connecting the caller to the Pope's Office.

----------

Placido was unsure on what to do. Angelia and Enrique fixed him with harden glares while Lazzaro demanded to know why he had kept that a secret. Jemma frowned at the display as she stood next to Father Edward. He seemed too bewildered to even step in. Kai decided to do it for him. "Everyone! Just calm down right now!" He ordered. Father Edward turned to Jemma.

"Do you work with Mister Hiwatari?" He inquried. Jemma shook her head.

"Oh no. I'm...Well...I'm a jack of all trades. I've done digs, wrote books, teached classes as a substitue teacher. I prefere to call myself a symbolist though." From her pocket, Jemma pulled out the photo of Aaron's body and handed it to father Edward. He stared in horror at the sight and was almost violently sick. "I'm sorry about showing you but this is the only way I could explain. The man was killed before the killer took the container of antimatter. He was branded on the chest by who I believe to be, the _Illuminati_." Jemma explained further. Placido glared at Jemma again.

"Don't be stupid! The _Illuminati_ are long gone." He spat. Jemma pointed to the brand on Aaron's chest.

"Then how do you explain that? There is no way that could be forged. Not even with the latest computer. The _Illuminati_ are back and they want revenge." Jemma retorted. Before Placido could counter her claim, the phone in the office gave out a loud shrill. Father Edward moved to place the phone on speaker, the photo still in his hand.

"Hello?" A male voice filled the room.

_"Camerlengo. For over 400 years the church has beaten science down every chance they got. The __**Illuminati**__ are here to stop you. I have your four Cardinals and I have placed a bomb of unbelievable power right under your nose."_

Angelia rushed to stand closer to the phone, tears in her eyes. "Where is my son? What have you done with him?" She demanded. The man chuckled on the other end.

_"Your son will be a martyr. Murdered for all the world to see."_ Angelia screamed in torment. She was quickly comforted by her grandson and Lazzaro. _"They will be killed publical. To show the world that the __**Illuminati**__ have returned. Four Cardinals will die and branded starting at eight. One each hour. By midnight you will be gone. Consider this revenge for __**La purga**_." The caller informed. Father Edward, clearly to young to remember, stared in confusion at everyone else. Jemma stepped in.

"1668. Four _Illuminati_ members were kidnaped and branded with a cross to purge them of their sins. After that they were murdered and dumped in public places warning people never to join the order." She informed. Kai remembered her telling him earlier that day. The caller chuckled.

_"It seems someone knows their history. You are?"_

Jemma swallowed thickly. "My name is of no importance to you. You speak like the Hassassin but you are not them." The caller replied with a questioning, _'Oh?'_. Jemma continued. "The Hassassin were Arabic. You are not." she added. The called laughed again. "Where are you going to kill them?" Jemma asked, an almost pleading tone heard in her voice.

_"It seems you notice the little things as well. As for the Cardinals, they will die in churches. It would seem out of kindness as such. This will give God a chance to bring their souls to heaven. In ninty minutes it begins."_ Jemma was quick to yell out again.

"Wait please! Tell me about the brands. You said you were going to brand them!" The killed chuckled again.

_"Can't wait to learn more hmm? If you know about the brotherhood then perhaps you would know about the other brands. I must go."_ the call ended. Angelia wailed loudly, grasping onto her grandson. Both of them were unable to accept the fate of Santino. Jemma's mind whirled with thoughts over what the killer had said. Father Edward began to pray for the Cardinals.

_There are five brands of the order. The first one was used on Aaron. Four brands are left....Four Cardinals....._Jemma's thoughts trailed off.

"What are we going to do? We have to save my father and the other Cardinals!" Enrique began. His grandmother continued to sob on the floor. "Father Edward.....is there anything we can do?" Enrique inquried almost sadly. Father Edward did not look at the young Tornatore heir. Kai cursed to himself in one corner. He stopped and glanced over to Jemma who continued to mutter something under her breath.

"What about _Conclave_? What about the other priests?" Placido asked. Father Edward was deep in thought.

"The Pope once told me that churches must surive the real world if they are ever to enjoy the divine. The real world has charged at us tonight. It would be stupid of us to ignore the currant problem. Cancel _Conclave._ Get everyone out of here." Father Edward ordered. Placido and the Father Edward continued to talk about the currant problem when Jemma gave lout a loud cry.

"The Altars of science!"

Everyone else was quiet. Jemma glance round the group. "Okay, so I take it I'm the only one to have figured it out." She sighed and sweatdropped. "There is a hidden trail in Rome known as _The Path of Illumination_. The trail consisted of a series of carefully hidden symbloic markers placed in public locations. Each marker pointed to each other. It was a test. If you were worthy enough to join the order, you had to follow the trail to the very end." Jemma began. Enrique shook his head a little.

"The Vatican wanted the order out of the way. They could have just followed the markers." he pointed out. Jemma shook her head.

"Not really. The path was hidden. Only the chosen few could find them. It was sort of like a secruity measure." Jemma looked at the group in turn. "The order hired an anonymous artist to make the markers under two rules. The first was the markers had to blend into Rome's art-work. The markers had to look like _Religious_ art. The second rule was the markers had to have themes. Earth, air, fire, water. By donating anonymously to select churchs, the order facilitated these four markers in carefully chosen churches. Each marker would subtly point the way to the next marker." Jemma paused to catch her breath.

"And this has something to do with catching this Hassassin?" Lazzaro inquried.

"Number one: He is not the Hassassin. Number two: it does. The _Illuminati_ called the four churchs the altars of sciene." Jemma informed. Enrique's eyes widened and his mouth felt dry. It was starting to make sense. Jemma turned to Kai. "Call the Barthez Division in here. They can help the Swiss guard find the antimatter."

"What about _Conclave_? Are we going to get them out or not?" Enquire asked. Placido stepped forward.

"We do not broadcast this but the Sistine Chapel can with stand a missile. _Camerlengo_, go to the chapel. Seal _Conclave_. We still have time to find the antimatter." He informed. Father Edward let out a sigh before nodding his head and heading to the door. He stopped to hear what else was said " We can cover a lot of ground in five hours. The antimatter search is in our hands." Placido added. Kai shook his head.

"_Four _hours. Mathilda still needs to get the damn thing back to the lab." Placido sighed. However he accepted the time he had. "The Barthez Division will wait for you outside." Kai informed. Placido saluted Father Edward and headed out of the room. Jemma chewed her thumb nail.

"I need access to the Vatican Archives."

Father Edward raised an eyebrow. "Jemma, I understand that you have written 7 times to gain access and each time you were denied." Jemma gritted her teeth.

"Well this will be the 8th time then won't it. Please Father. I need to get in there. This has nothing to do with my research. I may be able to find out where the killer intends to kill the cardinals." Everyone stared at Jemma. Father Edward shook his head. "Please father!" Jemma pleaded.

"Are you asking me to believe that the information is hidden in the archives?" Jemma nodded her head. "I'm sorry but I have to be at the Sistine Chapel soon. The archives are on the other side of the Vatican." Angelia could tell that Jemma was not joking with her request. Wiping away her tears, she turned to Father Edward.

"Your Holiness, I appluad you. Please allow Jemma access." Father Edward chewed his lip, worry clearly seen on his face.

"Access is only granted by written decree of the curator and...." Jemma cut in quickly.

"Or by the papal mandate. A papal mandate comes from this office. You hold the trust of his office tonight." Jemma added as a final plea. Father Edward churned over the information before glancing over to Angelia and Enrique. Both members of the Tornatore family nodded their heads. They trusted Jemma. Father Edward knew he would have to do the same.

"I assume you know the enterance to the archives." Jemma nodded her head quickly. "I am giving you my full trust Jemma. For now I must go." He paused to open the doors to the office. He glanced over to Jemma. "I will have Swiss guard take you there. Goodbye." Then father Edward was gone. Jemma let out a long breath and glanced at Kai. The russian stared back.

"You coming too?" Kai nodded his head. The pair were about to head off when Angelia grabbed Jemma's arm. The British girl stopped and turned to her. "Angelia?"

"Please...find my son. I know you cannot promise to find him alive but please try." Angelia smiled sadly when Jemma nodded her head. "The Tornatore guards are under your command. They will help you in your search." Angelia finally let Jemma go and watched the pair leave the room. Lazzaro turned to Enrique.

"Take care of your grandmother." Then the giant was gone.

----------

Bryan sat in the driver's seat of Blitzkreig Division van and watched the Barthez Division enter the Vatican. He slid open a panel behind him and lent back. "The others have gone inside the chapel." He informed. Tala nodded his head. "Do you really think the container is under the Vatican?" Bryan inquried.

"Seems like it. The container is their problem." Tala placed two fingers against the hands-free ear-piece in his ear. "Can you repeat that Kai?....Secret Archives? What are you....Okay, I get it....Okay Understood." Tala looked at each of the team. "Listen up! We've just had some new rules." As the red head explained the plan, the other three tried to make sense of the new information. Ian cursed to himself.

"Oh great. Things has just gotten worst."


	5. Chapter 5

_Thank you to __**SchoolBoredom**__ for her review._

* * *

**Chapter 5:**

The duo walked silently behind a Swiss guard as they made their way towards the Secret Archives. After a while, the silence was starting to get to Jemma. "Tell me Kai. What's with the needle mark on your wrist?" she asked suddenly. If the guard had heard her, he made no movement to prove he had. Kai felt a prickle where the needle mark was.

"None of your business." Kai shot back. Jemma slyly smirked and raised an eyebrow. The russian cursed. Jemma was known for diving head first into people's secrets when they got defenive about them. Kai glared coldly at his english friend, almost daring her to ask again. Jemma saw it and took the dare.

"Oh come on Kai. We're all friend's here." She giggled. A giggling Jemma was something to be feared. "I know it can't be drugs and you're not the type of person to try that sort of thing." Kai sighed to himself. The guard remained quiet. He finally came to a stop in front of a pair of double wooden doors. Reaching over, he unlocked a metal box and tapped in a code. He then turned back to the duo.

"The archives are beyond this door." He stated. Kai stared at him in surprise. Jemma on the other hand was ready to go in.

"You're leaving?" The russian spluttered. The guard nodded his head. "But why? And how do we get out again?" Being stuck in a large room with only Jemma for company wasn't high on Kai's to do list. The guard wrinkled his nose.

"The Swiss guards are not allowed to enter. You are only allowed in because you had clearance from the _camerlengo_. As for getting out, Monodirectional sercurity. You will have no differicults." And with that the guard was gone.

----------

"So you gonna explain about the needle mark?"

Kai had hoped Jemma would drop the whole thing. The british girl handed him some white cotten gloves, mumbling about Finger acid and set off to look for something. "If I tell you about the needle mark, will you tell me what the hell we're looking for?" Kai inquried. Jemma grinned like a cat, clearly into an exhange of information. She quickly nodded her head.

Kai sighed to himself. "Tala created something called a nano-bot project. It's just a prototype." Kai watched Jemma moved between the shelves. "Wanna explain about the information here?" Jemma nodded her head.

"We're looking for something done by Galileo." Jemma cursed. None of the documents were in order by author which made the search a lot harder then she thought. She caught Kai's stare. "Yes...by _the_ Galileo. Your turn."

"Tala needed a test subject so I offered. The nano-bots keep track of everything. Heart rate, breathing, brain waves. The whole idea is that when the project is finalized, we can offer it to Hopsitals and care homes. The elderly and the terminally ill will be injected with the nano-bots and that way they can be kept track off. For now it's just a prototype." Kai licked his bottom lip. "That's all I know. Now it's your turn."

"Remember I told you about _The Path of Illumination_ and how the order gained more members using a test...." Jemma paused, trying to figure out how to put it in words Kai could understand. "...Sort of like a treasure hunt." She glanced over to Kai who nodded his head. "Well they needed someway of letting the scientific community know about the markers and that the path exists." Kai rolled his eyes.

"Of course otherwise no-one will look for it. I'm not a complete idiot Jemma." He scowled. Jemma giggled to herself.

"I know that Kai. Some parts just happen to be missing." Jemma turned away, leading Kai down any aisle. Kai flipped her off. "Anyway even if people knew about the path, they wouldn't know where to start on the markers. Rome is after all _huge_. A couple of years ago, some researchers found some _Illuminati_ letters which pointed to the _segno_ or sign. Since then there have been many _Illuminati_ academics uncovering all sorts of other references to the sign."

"Like you?" Kai was surprised when Jemma shook her head. "But you seem to know a lot about this order." he countered. Jemma shook her head again.

"I'm what you call a newbie to the whole thing. I started off being interested in _The Knights Templar_ and _The Holy Grail_. However I am catching up." Jemma cursed to herself and took off again. Kai trailed behind her, a little confused.

"You must have had a good teacher if you learnt so much already." He mumbled. Jemma chuckled to herself. Out of the corner of his eye, Kai caught sight of a red light.

"Well you could say I'm like a sponge. I absorb information. Anyway, where did we get too?" Jemma trailed off and began to think. "Ah yes, now I remember! It has become a widely known theory that Galileo distributed information to the scientifice community without the Vatican knowning. No one is sure how of course. Galileo wrote many books and newsletters, still it was dangerous. Oddly enough if an allusion to the sign appears, be it in Masonic diaries or in _Illuminati_ letters, it often referes to a number." Kai glanced over to Jemma.

"Wouldn't be 666 would it?"

Jemma rolled her eyes and huffed. "No! That's just a common mis-conception. The number I'm talking about is 503." Jemma corrected. Kai turned to face her fully, his eyebrow raised. "Yes, Yes, I know. What does 503 got to do with it? That's just it. No-one's really figured it out. For years the only clue is that it starts with the number 5. A sacred digit of the _Illuminati_." Kai watched Jemma go off to another aisle.

"I take it that's why we're here. You figured it out." Jemma nodded her head. Kai wondered if it was a good idea to stroke Jemma's ego anymore then need be. Kai shook his head. "Jemma.....

"But of course my dear Kai! Have you heard of Galileo's _Dialogo_?" she called. Kai rolled his eyes.

"Yes I have. Listen Jemma. I think I've found something here. You may wanna....." Jemma wasn't listening to a word he was saying.

"When Galileo wrote the _Dialogo_, the Vatican made him add their own model of the solar system which, of course, was dead wrong. Still The Vatican saw Galileo as a heretic and placed him under house arrest. Galileo continued to write a much lesser known manuscript called _Discorsi_." Jemma noted how Kai had gone quiet. "Are you even listening to me?" she called. Turning round, Jemma jumped when she came face to face with Kai.

The russian said nothing as he grabbed her wrist and dragged her to what looked like a large vault. Jemma's mouth fell open as she searched at the vault. "I was trying to tell you about it but you weren't listening." Kai grumbled.

"Vault number 10. _Il Processo Galileano_." Jemma whistled. "A whole vault to himself. I wonder if I'll get something like this if I tick the Vatican off too much." Kai rolled his eyes but Jemma could see he was a little worried about the vault. The lights were set red making the entire vault crimson.

"Are we tanning or working?" he inquried.

"In your case, a little tan wouldn't go amiss." Jemma giggled. Kai glared at her, eyeing her equally pale form. "Parchment and vellum fades, so vault lighting is always done with dark lights." Kai waited for Jemma to enter the vault first but she remained where she was. "Word of warning. Hermetic vaults contain very little oxygen. Your breathing will feel a little strained." Pausing, Jemma shrugged. "But hey, if old Cardinals can surive...."

-----------

Hillary Tachibana gave out a loud bored sigh and lent back on her chair. The young spirited japanese reporter was currantly stationed in a news van, parked on the eastern edge of St Peter's. She began to silently curse her editor who decided to give her the job of...Hillary frowned....

_What did Tyson call it again? Ah yes! __**Pope Watch**_.

Hillary had gained a lot fame in Japan after exploiting rather shameful secrets on the new rising J-Pop star, Ming-Ming Kioko. Ming-Ming's fans began a hate group for Hillary, claiming the young reporter was just jealous of Ming-Ming. Hillary had dismissed it all. Hillary glanced to her right as she lent back further in her chair. Sitting at the steering wheel was Hiro Granger, camera man and Tyson's older brother. He seemed busy reading which just suited Hiro fine. "That interesting?" Hillary inquried.

"Hmm."

Hillary could hear the sounds of _Tetris_ being played behind her. "Which level are you at now Kenny?" Hillary asked.

"Level 11." Kenny was a small meek intern who tried so hard at everything. He had been appointed to Hillary's team and became their I.T guy. Hillary liked Kenny and treated him like a younger brother. A loud snore broke her thoughts. Of course Hiro's brother, Tyson Granger, would be asleep. Hillary could feel herself falling asleep.

Then her phone rang.

Hiro glanced away from his book as the reporter began to search her pockets for the phone. "What's the betting it's the Editor telling us to get our butts back home." He grumbled. Hillary quietly answered the phone. Kenny paused his game and shook his head. There was silence as Hillary listened to the person on the other end of the phone. Her face paled further.

-----------

Kai glanced over the numerous records. "What time is it?" He asked. He hated being stuck inside the vault with little oxygen. He knew damn well, the others would be wondering why his breathing states had suddenly gone in over-drive. Jemma fished her phone from her pocket. The signal was down again but Jemma didn't give a damn about that.

"It's just past seven. We have to find the document fast. No time for any dilly dally shilly shally." Kai watched Jemma in confusion as she headed off to find what they were looking for. However, since neither had access to the computerized biblion, finding the document was getting harder by the minute.

"Are you sure it's in here?" Kai asked. Jemma bit her lip before nodding her head.

"It has to be. I'm positvie." She was silently for a while. "It's listed in both the _Ufficio della Prop---_' Kai waved her off causing Jemma to stop and stare at him.

"As long as you're sure. You go right, I'll go left." he ordered. Jemma watched his turn left before going right. It had taken all her self-restraint not to browser through the other documents around her.

_I can't believe this! The one time I get in here and I can't look through anything!_ Jemma pouted slightly. _And all I want to do is look through all the information on the Knights Templar. Is that too much to ask for?_ she cursed to herself. Suddenly Jemma stopped and listened hard. She thought she had just heard Kai.

_"Jemma! I've found it!"_

Darting back the way she came, Jemma searched for Kai in the vault. She finally found Kai staring at something. "Where is it?" Jemma asked hurriedly. Kai pointed to whatever he was staring at. Jemma dropped to her knees and read the tag on the front. "No wonder we never found it. They've kept it in folio bin."

"A what bin?" Kai inquried. Jemma grunted as she tried to pull the bin out.

"It's what the Vatican use for keeping lose pages together. Help me with this will ya." Jemma responded. Kai dropped to his knees and helped Jemma pull the bin out. It finally rolled out, revealing the top of the box. Kai stared.

"No lock?"

"No need. In case of fire or flood, the documents have to be taken out of here quickly." Jemma wasted no time in opening the box. All her life she had wanted to see something like this and the thinning air left no room for hesitate. The latch opened with a snap and Jemma flung the lid off. Jemma reached inside the box and pulled out a black duck-clothed bag. Keeping it level, Jemma made her way towards a spare table. Kai was quickly behind her.

"I thought it was going to be a treasure map. Looks more like a pillow case." he commented. Jemma shook her head at the comment and opened the bag.

-----------

Hiro watched Hillary closely as she snapped her phone shut. "What was that all about?" Hiro got no answer. "Hillary?" Even Kenny had stopped playing _Tetris_. Hillary licked her lips and turned to face Hiro. She noted out the corner of her eye that Tyson was just waking up.

"I've just got a tip from someone. Didn't tell me their name. Only said that something big was happening in the Vatican." Hillary informed. Tyson snorted through a yawn and tried to get comfortable in the back of the van.

"It's called _Conclave_. Remember? That's why we're stuck here." Tyson pointed out. Hillary's eyes were upon him, glaring with all her might. Tyson let a sigh escape through his nose. "A hell of a tip that was." he added in a mumble. Hillary shook her head in anger.

"No Tyson! The caller just told me four Cardinals have been kidnapped and are going to be killed." All eyes were upon her. Hillary took a deep breath. "And they gave me the location of the first murder." The van was silent before Tyson burst out laughing. Hillary glared at him again with Hiro joining in. Kenny clutched his laptop tightly to him.

"I have only word for that. Bullshit!" Tyson exclaimed through laughter. Hillary shook in anger, trying hard not to jump on Tyson and beat the living hell out of him. Hiro frowned and turned to Hillary.

"I believe you Hill. We need all the information. Tell us everything they told you in detail, as much as possible." Hiro ordered. Hillary nodded her head and began to recite everyting she was told.

------------

"God-damn it!"

Jemma glanced over to Kai who cursed to himself. "I really don't think you should be using the lord's name in vain in here my friend." She pointed out. Kai rolled his eyes and shook his head. Clearly he didn't care if he did or didn't. The pair had spent far too long looking through the document and neither could find anything. "This isn't good." Jemma mumbled.

"Hey Jemma. Does any of your pages have a footnote?" Kai suddenly inquried. Jemma shook her head. She had searched every single page, cover to cover and had found no foot-notes. The British girl quickly got up and ran over to Kai. The russian squited at the text. "I can hardly see it. Too damn small."

"Need a translator?" Kai glanced over to Jemma. She stared back at him. "Hey, I am the only one in this duo who can speak Italian and a bit of Latin." Jemma defended. Kai pointed to the small text.

"Jemma. It's in English." The moment the words had left his lips, the document was grabbed from his hands. Kai watched Jemma who held the document close to her face. "Don't you dare sneeze." Kai warned. Jemma ignored him and she turned the document round. Kai watched in confusion, feeling a little light headed. They had to get out of there.

"There's more. I think its a poem." Jemma whispered. Mumbling the lines to herself, Jemma nodded her head. "It's a poem. Now I understand why its in english. The Vatican had not yet embraced English in the 1600s. They considered it as a free-thinker's language. This is it. This is what we're looking for." Kai scratched the back of his neck.

"I didn't think Galileo was a poet." He watched Jemma shake her head.

"He wasn't. This poem is signed by John Milton." To Jemma, it made sense. She had heard theories from her father's friend (Who had influenced her to find out more about the order) that John Milton was a member. Jemma lay the document down flat on the table as Kai stood up.

"Okay. We've found what we're looking for. Let's take the document and get the hell out of here." Kai grumbled, pulling off his gloves. Feeling a heated stare on him, Kai turned to Jemma. "What?"

"You can't just take this out of the Vatican!"

"Why not?"

Jemma's eyes widened further and she gave him a look that screamed _dumbass!_ "It's an age old document. It's made of papyrus. If it hits sun-light it will fade. Not only that but if we drop it in water, it will end up looking like a _**soggy tissue**_." Jemma all but yelled. She wasn't about to let Kai walk out with the document. Kai glared harder.

"What are you going to do then? You haven't got a pen or pa...." Kai trailed off as Jemma opened her bag. After a quick search, Jemma pulled out a note book and a pencil. Flicking through to find a clean page, Kai noted drawings of artifacts and buildings. His eyes widened slightly when he caught sight of something else. _What was that? Was that....Yaoi?_ Jemma grinned when she found a clean page and quickly copied the poem down.

"There!" Pulling off her gloves, Jemma tore the page from her note book and placed it in her pocket. Stuffing everything back inside the bag, Jemma grabbed Kai's arm and dragged him to the door of the vault. "Come on. No time to waste." She ordered.

-----------

Lazzaro caught sight of Jemma and Kai as they ran towards the vans. Tala was quickly by Kai's side. "Are you all right? You're breathing rate was going off the charts." He asked. Kai waved it off.

"I was in the archives remember. Very little Oxygen in there." the russian glanced over to Jemma. "So have you figured it out?" he asked. Jemma pulled the piece of paper from her pocket and began to read the poem. A crowd had already gathered round her.

"_From Santi' earthly tomb with demon's hole, 'Cross Rome the mystic elements unfold. The Path of light is laid, the sacred test. Let angels guard you on your lofty quest._" Jemma licked her bottom lip. "I...I don't know. Santi's earthly tomb?" She trailed off. Lazzaro eyed his second in command who clicked his fingers.

"Santi's tomb. That must mean Raphael's tomb." All eyes were upon him. "That must be were the killing will be." The guard looked at Lazzaro who nodded his head and turned to the other guards.

"Get to your cars! Make haste to Raphael Santi's tomb!" He barked. Jemma followed Kai and climbed into the Blitzkreig van with him still shaking her head. Ian eyed her closely.

"Something wrong?" The van raced forward as Bryan gunned the vehicle after the Tornatore guards. Jemma chewed her lip before finally looked over to Ian. He noted how she did not look at any of the computer screens behind her and that she seemed unfazed by what lay inside the van.

"I have a bad feeling about this."


	6. Chapter 6

_Thank you to __**SchoolBoredom**__ for her review. I have now seen the film twice (And loved every minute of it). This story is a little mixture of three things. The book, The film, and my own ideas._

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**Chapter 6:**

Four un-marked black cars raced down the streets of Rome followed closely by a large black van. Jemma chewed her bottom lip as she scanned the poem again. _Santi's earthly tomb. That would be in the Pantheon. But the building has only one door and no windows, plus that huge hole in the roof._ Jemma paused in her musing when the van came to a stop. The back of the van opened and Kai motioned Jemma to follow. The female didn't need telling twice and climbed over Ian.

"I was a secure route. We need this guy alive. No fire." Lazzaro ordered. He nodded to Jemma and Kai as they joined them. He turned to his second in commander. "Take another guard and go inside."

"Hang on! Two weight lifters in matching uniforms." Jemma crossed her arms over her chest. "Hardly covert Lazzaro." She muttered. The second in commander glare at her. To him, it seemed a waste of time and the fact Jemma did not show respect to his commander, added more problems.

"Firstly you will address The Commander correctly. Secondly how else are we going to find him? We can hardly send you inside." He shot back. Jemma blinked twice before placing her hands on her hips. She returned the guard's glare with equal force. Lazzaro stood between them. The last thing he wanted was for the pair to be arguing in the middle of the street.

"Excuse me! I look more like a tourist then you could ever be!" Jemma glanced over to Lazzaro. "Lazzaro, give me your number. If anything happens, I'll ring you." To prove her point Jemma pulled her phone into view and flipped it open "Hello? Oh hey Dad! I'm inside the Pantheon. I know I've been here before but the place is amazing." Jemma grinned as she snapped her phone shut. Kai had to admit it had him convinced. The second guard pointed to Kai.

"We cannot allow you to go on your own and we certainly can't send Mister Hiwatari in there. He doesn't even look like a tourist." He grunted. Kai looked over his outfit, followed by Lazzaro and Jemma. As far back as Jemma could remember into her college days, Kai had always been one to dress smart. There he was, standing in the middle of Rome, dressed in a suit without the tie. Lazzaro scratched his chin.

"Unless you're Sean William Scott."

Kai and the second guard stared at Lazzaro as Jemma grinned madly and nodded her head. "Damn right!" She exclaimed in glee. Lazzaro turned to the second guard.

"Give Mister Hiwatari a gun. Just to be safe." Kai coughed to gain his attention and opened the left side of his jacket. Sitting innocently in a holder at his side was a standard issue _Glock_. Jemma chuckled. Clearly she wasn't the only one to come prepared.

---------

Kai could not believe what he had been dragged into. Lazzaro had explained the plan in detail as Jemma listened closely to every little thing. The russian could Jemma still didn't believe that the Patheon was right but for now it was all they had. Kai was jolted from his musing when Jemma linked arms with him and nuzzled her face into his arm. "What are you doing?" Kai hissed as they got closer to the building. Jemma looked up, fixing him with a sugar coated puppy dog look that made Kai want to barf.

"Newly weds dofus!" she shot back. Kai frowned. He couldn't really remember how _Newly Weds _were meant to act. He was too young to remember the way his parents acted. Clearly Jemma remembered how to act. Kai nodded to the four guards who returned the gesture. Jemma glanced over to Kai. "Do you know how to shoot at all?" She whispered.

"Don't you trust me?" Kai inquried. Jemma let go of his arm and looked round the building.

"Trust you? I barely even know you. Even through college, you were always an enigma." She responded which was very true condersiding it was about Kai. The russian frowned a little more.

"And here I thought we were Newly Weds." He shot back.

-----------

Hillary looked over Kenny's shoulder as he pulled up information on _The Illuminati_. Her eyes widened as pages and pages of information appeared. Tyson snorted. "You don't believe any of this, do you Hiro?" He asked. Hiro was deep in thought. Tyson knew his brother well enough. The younger Granger sat up and fixed Hiro with a surprised look. "You do, don't you."

"I think it's worth checking out." Hiro mumbled behind his hands. He turned in his seat to face the steering wheel. "When you've finished with the information, I want to know where the hell the shit hits the fan." Hiro called over his shoulder. Hillary smiled at her camera-man.

"You got it Hiro."

-----------

Kai inhaled deeply. The air was cool and damp. Jemma had gone on her own walk to the left, keeping an eye open for anything strange. Kai walked to the right, keeping behind a large tourist group. He looked up towards the ceiling, eyeing the large hole. _Could the killer really drop a Cardinal through there?_ The russian wondered.

Jemma on the other hand was to busy looking around. She had searched every recesse she could find before coming to a stop. Checking her mobile, she found that they had 8 minutes left. Something still didn't feel right to Jemma. Feeling eyes on her, Jemma glanced over her shoulder. An elderly man was giving a speech to a few tourists, pointing to various items. Jemma stared closely at his outfit. He wour a rather long blue cape with a red cross on the chest.

_"Are you english?"_

Jemma shook her head. She remembered the man from her first visit with her father.

_"Yes. We both are."_

_"Oh wonderful. Perhaps I could give you a history of the building. I am after all the __**cicerone**__here."_

_"Thank you but my daughter and I know a great deal of history already and..."_

Jemma clearly remembered the old man now. Despite her father telling him they didn't need to know the history, the old man had rattled off anyway. The english girl pushed back a group and made her way to Raphael's tomb. Reading the inscription, Jemma felt something heavy drop in her stomach. Now she understood why she had a bad feeling. "Kai!"

The russian looked round for Jemma before spotting her by the tomb. Pushing past a couple, Kai joined Jemma as she read the poem again. "What is it? You found something?" Kai inquried. Behind him the tour group had moved and were now right behind the pair. Jemma shoved the poem under Kai's nose.

"We're in the wrong place! This was published in 1639. Raphael died in 1520 but was not buried here until 1759." Jemma watched Kai blink in confusion. Jemma cursed. "That's almost a century after the document was published!" Jemma slammed a hand against her forehead. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" She hissed. The tour guide turned round.

"Is your wife all right?" He inquried. Kai stared at the male, wondering where he had seen the figure before. His attention was turned back to Jemma who suddenly stopped what she was doing and began to mumble to herself. "Miss? Is everything all right?" The tour guide inquried again. Kai began to move the tour guide away.

"I'm sorry. She's not my wife, friend actually. Slight mental problem. We should rea---" Jemma grabbed Kai's shirt collar and yanked him back. When he was back with her, Jemma spun him round.

"Number one: I do not, repeat **do not**, have a slight mental problem. Number two: I have just worked it out. Raphael was a architect! He built a tomb..." Jemma shook her head. "...Wrong word. He built a _chapel_ for someone else. A chapel with a demon's hole. A _oculus_." Jemma pushed Kai out of the way and made her way to the tour guide.

"Can I help Miss?"

Jemma read the golden tag on his shirt. "Yes Oliver. That sounds french. Are you French?" Jemma asked. Oliver blinked and nodded his head. Jemma grinned. "All right. Do you know any chapels built by Raphael that would have a Oculus in them? Any at all?" Jemma inquried. Oliver scratched his neck. Jemma was starting to creep him out and Kai knew just how he felt.

"Actually....of the top of my head, I can only think of one." Oliver yelled out in surpise when Jemma hugged him with all her might. "Miss! Please!"

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I love you so much I could kiss you!" She placed the tour guide down. "Where is it?"

-------------

The second in command jolted back in surprise when Jemma jabbed a finger right in his face. "Damn you to the very depths of Hell!" She snapped before looking at Lazzaro. "We're in the wrong place. No thanks to your dumb-shit second in command." Lazzaro cursed while the second in command glared at Jemma. Kai opened the passenger door to the Blitzkreig van and explained the situation.

"So where is it?" Lazzaro inquried.

"Santi's earthly tomb is in _The Chigi Chapel_. We have to go. Now!" Jemma called over her shoulder as she climbed into the van. She slammed the passenger door shut before noting the driver. "Wasn't Bryan driving?" Spencer smiled slightly.

"My turn now." Jemma only nodded her head before pointing at the cars in front. Spencer knew what she ment and followed after the Tornatore guards.

---------

The group came to a stop on the south side of the _Piazza del Popolo_. Lazzaro noted that they had only a few minutes before eight o'clock. He climbed out of his car, following closely behind Jemma and Kai. He glanced over to his second in command. "Wait here!" he hissed and Lazzaro was then gone.

The _Chigi Chapel_ was under constrution causing Kai to worry slightly. Jemma smiled when she caught sight of a obelisk in the dead center of the square. Reaching the door, Lazzaro cursed. He had never seen the type of door handle before and it confused him to no end. "We'll go round the back!" He ran off to the right with two guards flanking him.

"Wait!" Jemma was too late. Shaking her head, Jemma turned back to the door handle. Kai watched as she turned it right then pulled it out towards her. The door opened with a loud squeak. It took both Kai and Jemma to push the heavy door open.

--------

The air smelt musty. It was the type that stuck in the back of your throat and made you gag. Dust sheets blocked off both Kai and Jemma's vision. Jemma tapped her fingers against the straps of her back while she bit her lip hard. The silence was getting to her. Kai already had his _glock_ in his hands.

Movement from the right caused Kai to swing and aim his gun at the dust sheets. He glanced at Jemma and motioned with his head. Jemma nodded her head and moved to stand behind Kai. The russian pushed the dust sheet back and came face to face with Lazzaro's gun. The pair let out a breath and lowered their guns. "Anything?" He asked. The other two guard with him appeared from behind Jemma. The british girl shook her head.

Somewhere outside, the group heard the chime of a clock. It was now eight o'clock.

Jemma moved past Kai, searching for the tomb they need. After a while Jemma waved at them to follow her. "I think I've found it." she whispered. The group stepped inside a recesse. Lazzaro looked round.

"I don't see any---" he paused and sniffed the air. "But I damn well smell something. Holy father! It's smells vile!" Lazzaro swore. The other two guards began to choke. Kai sniffed the air and almost turned green. Jemma seemed un-affected as she scanned the floor. She paused when she caught sight of something. She bent down, fingering a mosaic.

"It's here." She whispered before looking at the group. "This is it! This is the demon's hole!" Jemma tried to get her finger nails under the circle, cursing and drawing back when she felt her nails bend backwards. "Damn it all!"

"Wait here." One of the two guards took off back to a worker's tool box. He returned with crowbar and slammed the end under the circle. With the help of the second guard, the pair managed to lift the cover off. Kai and Lazzaro grabbed the side and rolled the man-cover to one side. The smell underneath hit the group in waves. "I'm going to be sick!" The guard coughed. Jemma was all ready leaning down into the hole.

"I can't see anything." Jemma looked up at Lazzaro who covered his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket. "You got a torch?" Lazzaro fiddled with something before handing Jemma a small black torch. Jemma nodded her thanks, switched it on and placed the end between her teeth. Kai watched as Jemma began to climb down into the hole.

----------

As Jemma desended down into the hole, the smell washed over her like a tidal wave. She had learnt long ago to breath through her mouth, lest she wanted to gag anymore on the smell. Jemma stopped and hung onto the ladder with one hand. Taking the torch in the other hand, she swung the light beam round. "Okay. Here we go." Jemma whispered. She turned back to the ladder, the torch beam lightening up something in the wall.

**"Jesus, Mary mother of mutant blue cheese!"**

Kai lent down into the hole, watching Jemma hang onto the ladder and shaking like a leaf. "Jemma? Are you okay?" Kai called out. Jemma looked up, the torch lightening up her face like a halloween pumpkin.

"Oh I'm fucking peachy my friend! There are skulls in the wall! **Skulls**!" She screamed. Kai couldn't think of anything to say to his friend to calm her nerves but it was clear he didn't have too. Taking a few deep breaths, Jemma continued on her way down the ladder. She jumped onto the floor once she reached the bottom. Turning round, the british girl caught sight of a person. Creeping closer, Jemma stared in shock at the figure.

It was one of the Cardinals. He was naked, buried in the dirt up to his waist. His hands were bound behind his back. Stepping ever closer, Jemma swallowed a lump in her throat. It was not Santino Tornatore but that was not the reason as to why Jemma felt the urge to cry. The Cardinal's eyes had rolled back. His skin was deathly pale. Jemma could clearly see that dirt had been shoved into the Cardinal's mouth and nose blocking off his air way. Looking at his chest, Jemma reeled back and gasped.

"Lord have mercy on this poor soul." She whispered. Her eyes were trained on the Cardinal's chest as Kai and Lazzaro joined her side. Both males looked as though they wanted to gag.

Branded on the Cardinal's chest was an ambigram of the word _Earth_.


	7. Chapter 7

_Thank you to __**SchoolBoredom **__& __**AkuMa HiKaRi**__ for their reviews._

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**Chapter 7:**

Hiro zoomed in on his camera as Hillary leaned over his shoulder. She squinted as the pair watched more and more people enter the building. "Who are those people?" Hillary inquried in a whisper. Hiro frowned to himself. He couldn't make out the emblem on the jackets, no matter how many times he zoomed in.

"They might be Swiss." Kenny offered, hitching his glasses up. Tyson snorted.

"Whoever they are, they're certainly busy in there." He commented.

---------

Lazzaro talked quietly on his phone. Kai knew he was explain the events to Enquire. He glanced over to Jemma who chewed her thumb nail. "Was that Santino?" The russian inquried. Jemma paused briefly before shaking her head. Kai sighed. "We have three more chances to find him then." he added in a mutter. At this thought, Jemma pushed herself away from the wall she lent against and studied the chapel.

"Pyramids in a chapel. This place just screams of _Illuminati_." Jemma began to ramble quietly to herself. Kai watched her silently, amazed at how fast she could think. Jemma frowned. "That can't be right." She whispered. Lazzaro cocked his head to one side as he finished his phone conversation.

"Little one? What's not right?" He inquried. Jemma tapped her foot on the stone floor and stared up at the ceiling. Usually she would yell at Lazzaro for calling her _Little one_ but it was clear her mind was on other things. After a while Jemma began to giggle which then turned into a full blown laugh. Kai raised an eyebrow.

"Okay. She's lost it."

Jemma shook her head. "Forgive me. There was a unknown _Illuminati_ sculptor and I believe his name was _Bernini_. The order was known for infiltrating high socities. Bernini was the Vatican's wonderboy so who better then to made markers for the _Illuminati_." Jemma explained. Kai waved a hand in front of him.

"All well and good but you're missing one thing. Where the hell is the marker?" He asked. Jemma tapped her bottom lip three times.

"The markers would be hidden in plain sight against a Christian backdrop." Jemma paused and glanced over to a large dust sheet which covered a statue. Her light purple eyes widened. "Aha!" She yelled and yanked the dust cover off the statue. The cover fell directly on top of Jemma who struggled to get out from under it. Lazzaro pulled one end, helping her. Lazzaro, Kai and Jemma eyed the marker closely. It was made of the finest marble and towered over the trio.

"Who are they?" The russian inquried. Lazzaro glanced over Jemma's head and stared at Kai in shock. Kai glanced over to him. "What? I'm a scientist. Artwork does not figure in my daily work!" He defended. Lazzaro rolled his eyes, unable to believe that Kai did not know the statue infront of him. The towering Tornatore guard smiled a little when Jemma answered Kai's question.

"_Habakkuk and the Angel_. Habakkuk was a prophet that predicted the end of the world." Stepping closer to the staue, Jemma pointed to the angel's out-stretched arm. "She's pointing! This is the first marker!" Jemma pushed past both Lazzaro and Kai. "The path is alive!" She yelled out over her shoulder and exited the chapel.

----------

The air was cool in the dying sun. Remembering the direction that the angel was pointing, Jemma tried to see past buildings. She cursed her shortness. Footsteps ran up behind her. "What are you trying to find?" Lazzaro asked. Jemma turned to face them. The second in command joined the trio.

"The angel was pointing south-west. She was pointing to the next marker which is _Air_. The path is alive and we have no time to waste. I need a map." Over Kai's shoulder, Jemma eyed the scaffolding. She pushed past the males and headed towards it. Glancing over her shoulder, Jemma scowled when none of them moved. "Hello! Map! I need one right now!" She swore. The second in command burst into life and raced to the car to find a map. Kai and Lazzaro watched Jemma climb up the scaffolding.

"Little one, be careful up there!" Lazzaro yelled but Jemma ignored him. The higher she climbed, the more she could see. It was views like this that Jemma lived for. Scanning the area around her, Jemma tried to picture any work of art by Bernini that involed Air.

_Jesus Christ girl! Grandfather would be ashamed of you! __**Ashamed**__ I say!_ Jemma shook her head. Her Grandfather loved art, collected over a thousand pieces and taught Jemma far too much on the great artists. She rubbed her forehead. Then Jemma paused. She could see the Vatican and her mind wondered. _Could it be...?_ Jemma made haste, climbing down the scaffolding as fast as she could.

"Your map." The second in command stated, handing the item to Jemma. She nodded her thanks and rushed to the Blitzkreig Division's van. Unfolding the map, she traced a line southwest. The Blitzkreig Division and Lazzaro crowded round.

"What are you looking for?" Ian injected. Jemma chewed her top lip. The line she was tracing past straight through St Peter's sqaure. Lazzaro placed a finger on St Peter's. Jemma glanced up at him.

"You're looking for Air, correct?" Jemma nodded her head feverishly. Lazzaro returned the nod. "I use to protol St Peter's when I worked for the Swiss guard. I past one thing almost everyday. A block. Marble if I remember rightly, placed at the edge of the monolith. It's not rectangle, more of an ellipse. There's an image of what I do believe is an angel blowing out a gust of wind." Lazzaro stumbled back slightly when Jemma hugged her round the middle.

"Thank you Lazzaro." Releashing her friend, Jemma made her way to the passenger side of the van. "Make haste! Back to St Peter's sqaure!"

----------------

Tourists moved around St Peter's sqaure, enjoying the peace. The setting sun seemed to enhace the mood. Kai fingered the hilt of the his hidden _Glock_ and cursed inwardly. Whatever mood everyone else was in did not match his. When the van came to a stop, Jemma lent over Kai and unlocked the passenger door. "Well get going!" She hissed and pushed the russian out. Kai managed to regain his balance before hitting the ground. Jemma jumped out, watching other guards disappear within the crowd.

Lazzaro appeared behind them. "Same drill as before." He whispered. Jemma grinned and linked arms with Kai again. The russian glanced over his shoulder and spotted Tala. Mouthing the word _sorry_, Kai was whisked away by Jemma. Bryan sat next to Tala and watched the two leave.

"You think Jemma has feelings for Kai?" Bryan asked. Tala watched Jemma closely before shaking his head. "You sure. She seems awfully friendly with him." Bryan lent on the dash board as Tala lent back in his chair. Once again the red head disagreed.

"She's always been like that from what Kai told me. I shouldn't worry too much about it Bryan."

-----------

There were three major things that scared Jemma in her life. The first was spiders only because her father had gotten bitten by a spider at one of his digs, and was on death's door. The second was sheep but no-one could fully understand that one. And the final one was piegeons.

As the duo neared the obelisk and the second marker, a young girl was feeding the piegeons. She clutched a rag-tag angel doll with her and threw more seeds out in a wide arch. Jemma shuddered. "You don't like piegeons?" Kai inquried. Jemma shook her head. The russian dragged his friend away before she had chance to chase the piegones away. "Let the poor kid have some fun." He warned. The duo came to a stop infront of the second marker. "_West Ponente_."

"West Wind." Jemma breathed. She had never any took notice of the ellipse before but she was sure her grandfather told her about it. Fishing her phone from her pocket, Jemma checked the time. "We don't have long. We've gotta find this guy." Jemma hissed a little. Kai paused and glanced over his shoulder. Jemma noticed that he had tensed. "What?"

"Shit. Reporters." He groaned. Reporters weren't everyone's cup of tea. Heck, Jemma had a few run-ins with them over various things. The British girl tried to find the reporter before noticing the the little girl had run off to get some more bird food. Letting go of Kai's arm, Jemma charged forward. Before she could, the bells tolled nine o'clock and the piegeon's flew.

"Oh damn it!" Jemma cursed and crossed her arms over her chest. Looking at the floor, Jemma noticed a dark stain. She followed the stain trail to the base of the obelisk where a man was wheezing. "Kai!" She yelled, running towards the man. The russian was behind, followed Lazzaro. The man wheezed louder and slowly made his way towards Jemma. She was not quick enough to catch him before the man hit the floor. Kai paused when Lazzaro stopped. He mouthed something to the russian who nodded and continued on to Jemma.

"Is it him?" Kai asked, keeling down next to the body. With Jemma's help, the pair managed to roll the body over. "Jesus Christ!" Kai yelled. When the Cardianl was on his back the true horror was about to unfold. Jemma stared at the ambigram of _Air_ branded on the Cardinal's chest. Pushing aside his terror, Kai placed two fingers against the Cardinal's neck. "He's still alive." he informed.

Swallowing her pride, Jemma bent down and gave the Cardinal mouth to mouth. Something hissed before two jets of air shot up. Blood splattered against Kai's face from two puncture holes on either side of his chest. Kai jumped back, hitting the base of his spine on the hard floor. Jemma stopped and gulped loudly.

"His lungs. They've been punctured."

_"Take your hands off me! I demand you let me go right now!"_

Jemma and Kai turned to the source of the noise as some of the Tornatore guards took care of the body. Lazzaro and Spencer had the reporter pinned against the Blitzkreig van. Tala, Bryan and Ian were standing next to the reporter's van, keeping an eye on the people inside. "That takes care of the reporters." Jemma mused.

----------

Kai retched. The smell of blood was now in the back of his throat. Standing in the Pope's bathroom, Kai desperatly tried to wash away the blood from his face and hands. Once he was sure it was gone, the russian removed his jacket and checked the damage of his shirt. He remembered Jemma saying that blood was hard to get out of clothes. Frowning, Kai turned to see a priest shirt hanging up.

_"You'd be surprised to learn that would fit."_

Father Edward had been nothing but kind to the pair, beliving their stories and truelly beliving Jemma. Kai shook his head and pulled the priest collar away.

----------

The Pope's office was bursting with movement. Father Edward watched Lazzaro and Officer Placido talk while The Blitzkrieg and Barthez Division's talked about the anti-matter. After a while The _Camerlengo_ moved to sit next to Jemma who all but ignored the scene. Father Edward watched Jemma closely.

She had retied her long blue hair into a high pony-tail and was staring at Vatican city through the bullet proof glass of the office. While food and drink had been laid out for everyone, Jemma sat munching on what looked like a _Oreo_ biscuit and swallowing large amounts of _Red Bull_. After a while Jemma's attention was turned to Father Edward as he continued to pray. He clutched his cross so tightly it almost dug into his skin. "Nervous?"

Father Edward jumped a little and glanced over to Jemma. She smiled a little which eased his fears a little. "Is it that easy to tell?" he chuckled.

"Everyone has their own quirks when they're nervous. Take me for example. I bite both my nails and my lip. Once I bit them so hard I ended up bleeding all over the place." Jemma wiped biscuit crumbs from her face. "I had this one thing though, when I was a kid. If I got too nervous, and I mean like a gittering wreck, I had a nosebleed. One time this nosebleed was so bad, I fainted." Father Edward nodded his head.

"I can relate. I remember the first time I ever parachuted. The nosebleed that followed was terrible."

"You...You've parachuted?" Jemma gasped. Father Edward chuckled again.

"Yes. I was born and raised in Italy so I had to do two years of military service. I flew helicopters and took injuired soliders out of war zones." Father Edward rubbed his eyes. "I was orphaned at a young age. The Holy father took me in as his son." Jemma found she could not say anything to Father Edward. In the end she turned back to her can of _Red Bull_ and finished the last drips. When Kai returned from the Pope's bathroom he talked quickly to the two Division's.

"Anything?" Miguel shook his head.

"Claude is still searching. Wherever the killer put the bomb, he's hidden it well." Miguel informed. Kai cursed to himself before nodding his head and turning to face Jemma.

"You have any idea where the next marker will be?" Jemma searched round for a bin before putting the empty can back in her bag. Kai eyed the bag closely. "What have you got in that thing?"

"Everything and anything. My life is in this bag." Jemma paused and stood up. "The next marker is _Fire_. I can't begin to think how terrible the killing will be. Anyway the marker has to relate to Fire and has to be by Bernini. I have to get back in the Archives to find it." Jemma explained. Placido spun round and glared at her.

"Again? You don't remember where is it?"

"Sorry _Commander_. My grandfather was the art collector. I'm the symbolist." Placido growled. Jemma walked quickly to a large map of Rome which hung on the wall on the right side of the Pope's desk. She pointed to St Peter's square. "We're here of course. _West Ponente's _breath is pointing East." Tracing a line, the group behind watched closely. "As you can see, it passes through all of Rome. Along the way there has to be at least twenty Catholic churches that fall within that line." Miguel groaned to himself.

"Twenty! How on earth are you meant to find it?" Mathilda inquried. Jemma continued to stare at the map.

"That is the reason why I need to get back into the Archive. Paperwork for the Vatican assets. Something like that." Placido shook his head feverishly.

"Forget it! You are..." Placido trailed off when father Edward stood up. "Father?"

"Placido, The choices about the Archives does not fall to you." Father Edward turned to face Jemma. "If you believe it will help locate the last two Cardinals, then I suggest you make haste to the Archives." Jemma smiled widely and grabbed her bag. Placido stared in surprise at Father Edward.

"But...But...You cannot be serious Father. This woman let two Cardinals die! That was only becasue she had gotten it wrong in the first place and..." Lazzaro grabbed Placido by the shoulder and glared hard at him. "Lazzaro! I demand you let me go this instance!" Placido spat.

"You cannot order me around Placido. Incase you've forgotten I no longer work for you." Placido countered Lazzaro's glare with one of his own. "As for little one, she did not get anything wrong. If anything, Jemma has been right so far about the whole thing." Lazzaro continued. Jemma smiled.

"Well I don't know about you guys but I've got an Archive to search." Jemma got as far as the door when she noted Kai was close behind.

"Miguel, Mathilda. Increase the search for the antimatter." he ordered. The two nodded their heads and took off back to their post. Kai placed two fingers onto the ear-piece.

-----------

Tala sat up straight in his chair. "Reading you loud and clear Kai."

_"Tala, listen very closely. I want you to moniter my breathing in detail."_ Tala frowned a little and moved to sit in front of a small computer screen. On it was all of Kai's vital signs.

"Sure. Any reason as to why?"

_"I'll be in the Archives with Jemma again but that's not what worries me. There's something strange going and I'm not taking chances. If there is even a blimp on the vitals signs, you high-tail your ass to me. Got that?"_ Kai ordered. Tala was beginning to worry.

"You know I will but Kai....I have no idea where the Archives are." Kai cursed to himself before Jemma began to talk in a somewhat low whisper. Tala strained to hear anything she was saying. Finally Kai agreed to what she said.

_"Listen carefully. Remember the directions I'm about to tell you."_ Tala listened in silence.


	8. Chapter 8

_Thank you to __**SchoolBoredom**__ for your review!_

* * *

**Chapter 8:**

Jemma had suddenly become as giddy as a schoolgirl. All her life she had wanted to enter the Archives but had never thought she would do it, twice in one day. Kai, on the other hand, chewed his bottom lip nervously. The guard in front escourted the pair back to the Archives but Kai couldn't help eyeing him strangely. The russian was surprised when the guard entered the Archives with them and continued to escourt them further into the archive. "Over here."

Kai lent a little closer to Jemma. "What are we looking for?" He whispered. The guard's ears perked up but he said nothing. Jemma's eyes scanned the other vaults.

"Vatican Assets. It holds the paperwork for the Vatican." Jemma craned her neck backwards as she past another vault. "Hopefully whatever Bernini created should be listed in there." she added. Kai pointed to the back of the guard's head as the guard came to a slow stop.

"What about this guy? I thought the Swiss guard weren't allowed this far." He hissed a little. Jemma shrugged. Clearly she had no idea about the matter either. Finally the guard showed them to the Vatican Assets vault. Jemma entered fist, eager to get inside. Kai glanced over to the guard. "The air's fine inside. There's little of it but it's breathable." The guard shook his head.

"My orders were to show you this far. I must return back to the my post." With a quick salute, the guard turned on his heel and walked away. Kai felt a slight tug of panic. He grabbed the guard's wrist tightly.

"You're leaving?"

The guard pulled his arm away and nodded his head. "Yes. As you are aware the Swiss guard are not allow to enter the Archives. I have breached protocol by escorting both you and your friend this far. Commander Placido is fully aware of it and you should be as well." Kai growled loudly.

"Breaching Protocol? Whoes side are you on damn it!" Kai yelled. The guard glared hard at Kai and was surprised when the russian did not sink away. Without another word, The guard turned and continued out of the archives. The panic Kai had felt was growing more and more by the second.

----------

There was three knocks at the door which told Nathan it was okay to answer it. The half-japanese male had become a little worried as of late, seeing as every Tom, Dick and Harry had turned up over Jemma's research on the Knights Templar. Leaving the manuscript on the table, Nathan made his way over to the Door and slowly opened it.

"_Konnichiwa Nathan-kun."_

Nathn grinned and flung the door open wide. "_Konnichiwa!"_ he greeted and hugged his mother tightly. "You never said you were coming round." Sophia Hikaru smiled and shrugged her shoulders a little.

"We wanted to surprise you both." she replied. Nathan pulled away from the hug and raised an eyebrow.

"We?"

"Hello Nathan." The said male glanced over his mother's shoulder to see Jemma's father, Sean William Scott, smiling back. Sophia moved to the side so the two males could greet each other. "I take it my daughter isn't it otherwise she would have come to greet me by now." Sean chuckled. Nathan nodded his head and hushed both inside the apartment. No sooner had both entered the apartment, Pansy decided he wanted some fuss.

"Yeah about Jemma. She got called away to some place called _Biovolt_ by an old friend from College. Last I heard was a rushed text message saying she was going to Rome." Nathan sat down in the arm-chair as the Sean and Sophia sat on the sofa. "I haven't heard anything since so I'm a little worried." Sean nodded his head and Sophia reached to grab the remote.

"She's got a good head on her shoulders. Scott trait." Sean laughed, pointing to his own head. Nathan chuckled a little. "Jemma'll know what to do in a tight spot. I shouldn't worry too much." The news reporter from the television pull everyone's attention.

_"Thank you Lynda. As you can see behind me, __**St Peter's Square**__ is starting to fill out. The death of the pope has been a shock to all and everyone here is hoping for a swift election. So far we have only seen black smoke come from the __**Sistine Chapel**__ which means that no-one has been selected to carry on the postion as Vicar to Christ."_

The newswoman was back in view. "I understand you had word about a bomb threat and that four of the Cardinals have been reported missing. Can you shed any light on this?"

_"We have very limited information at the time. The __**Tornatore**__guards, who are sworn to protect the __**Tornatore**__ family, have been very strict on what can be published to the press. However some hours ago we recived information that there is a terrorist threat. The caller claimed that a bomb had been planted somewhere either around Rome or inside the Vatican itself. Despite the recent news that the Four Cardinals, one of whom is __**Santino Tornatore**__, are actually missing, __**Conclave**__ has gone according to plan. So far that is all the information we can give you at this time. We will continue to keep you posted."_

Nathan, Sean and Sophia glanced at each other. "I take it this is the reason Jemma is in Rome then." Sophia mumbled, pointing to the TV screen. Nathan shrugged.

"Must be." Sean agreed.

"Has to be. Besides Jemma's always been interested in conclave. Tries to watch every single news reporter on it." Sean added, crossing his arms over his chest. A sly grinned appeared on Nathan's face.

"Does she? Is that so she can work out whether or not she can get into the Archives?" he chuckled. Sopahia bit her lip from laughing as Sean joined in Nathan's chuckling.

----------

The vault was smaller then the one they'd been in before. Kai had noted that with unease. No sooner had he entered, Kai knew there was less time to work as there was less air. Swallowing his doubt, Kai joined Jemma as she climbed up on a wobbly roll ladder. The russian grabbed the bottom to steady it. "So where's this file?"

"Ledger actually. As you know, the Archives are not in order. The _Vatican Assests_ are no different but I've figure something out. The assests are arranged by overall value of the artist." Jemma reached up and eased down a five inch thick ledger. "And here is our darling _Bernini_." Kai took the ledger off his friend to allow Jemma to get down the ladder. He spread the book out on a near by table and quickly flipped to the index. Jemma raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for the marker. You said it was fire right?" Jemma nodded her head. "So I'm looking through all the...." Kai trailed off when he found that his plan wasn't going to work. "Damn it! What do these people have against alphabetizing?" The russian swore. Jemma pulled the book over to her. The names were listed by the dates they had been made.

"Just a quick question. How are the others finding the antimatter?" Jemma inquried. She began to flip through the ledger. Kai jammed his hands in his pockets.

"They're shutting off the power in certain grids in Rome. Miguel suggested it seeing wherever the antimatter is, it's being lit up by artificial light." Kai explained. Jemma nodded her head a little.

"Makes sense." Suddenly Jemma stopped on a page. Kai lent over scanning the information along with her but he could only understand the title of it.

"_The Ecstasy of St. Teresa_? That doesn't have fire anywhere in the title." Kai pointed out but Jemma refused to turn the page. Finally she smiled and glanced up to face Kai.

"Since you're a man of science and have no idea about Art, I'll give you a little history lesson. _The Ecstasy of St. Teresa_ had ben moved from one place to the Vatican. Some people would have described it as a master-piece but Pope Urban VIII rejected it because it was too sexually explicit for such a holy place. But that was not what caught my eye." Jemma pointed to one phrase. "Here. It says that it had been moved _per suggerimento del artista_."

Kai blinked in confusion. "Jemma, I can't understand italian or latin." Jemma groaned to herself. In her moment of triumph she had forgotten Kai's lack of knownledge on Rome.

"By suggestion of the artist! Which means Berinin suggested moving his masterpiece to some other off the spot location." Jemma glanced back down to the book and began to read again. "_Blah, Blah, Blah__**. **_Aha! _His golden spear...filled with fire._" Jemma grinned at Kai who blinked again.

"Are you saying she's the next marker?" Kai inquried. Jemma nodded her head feverishly and pointed back at the ledger. The Italian word for fire, which was _fuoco_, appears dozen of times. It had to be the next marker. The pair looked down again trying to find the next location. Kai pointed to a scrawl at the bottom of the page.

_"Santa Maria della Vittoria_." Jemma grinned and shut the book. "Let's go!"

The pair raced towards the door but their good luck had run out. Suddenly the vault was plunged into a darkness and a whine was heard inside. Jemma stopped and looked round as Kai jabbed the exit button a few times. "We have a major problem. The power's gone." Kai informed. In a moment of masked panic the russian punched the exit button but nothing happened.

"We've gotta get out of here." Jemma mumbled feeling the air leave.

-----------

Tala jolted up in his seat as alarm bells began to ring. Ian and Bryan were next to him as the red head began to tap a few keys on a keyboard. Ian's eyes widened. "Is...is that's Kai's breathing?" he asked. Tala nodded his head.

"Yeah." Tala cursed suddenly. He couldn't get a fixed reading on Kai's location. He quickly stood up, hiding his _Glock_ under his jacket and grabbed Bryan by the shoulders. "Get in the chair. Keep me updated on Kai's breathing. I'm going to get him." Tala pushed the door of the van opened and ran off towards the Vatican. Bryan looked at Ian who shrugged before taking their places.

----------

Jemma watched Kai grab the roll ladder, which turned out to be aluminum rather then wood, and run full pelt at the glass. The ladder hit head on, the force shook both the ladder and Kai's body. The russian groaned and stumbled back, hitting the door and falling to the floor. The window did not crack. Jemma lent against the table, trying to control her breathing. Kai watched her before his eyes closed.

_"Tala! Hurry your ass up! His breathing is dropping far to dangerously for my liking!"_

Jemma's eyes snapped open. Glancing over to the glass, she found Tala running towards them. The British girl smiled. _So Kai was right when he said Tala had a good memory. Or maybe my little bread-crumb trail helped_. Jemma moved slowly towards the glass, noticing Tala's _Glock_ was with him. She stopped near the desk and pulled out a lone sheet of paper. Outside Tala was trying to find a way in.

His attention was turned to Jemma who helped a piece of paper against the window. **Shoot at the glass! Don't question, just do it!** Tala nodded his head and silently ordered Jemma to move. She did, standing next to Kai. Removing his _Glock_, Tala fire at the glass. It cracked but did nothing else. Cursing loudly in russian, Tala emptied the _Glock_ clip and curse again. Jemma held up another piece of paper.

**Thanks! I have an idea. Just get far away from the glass as you can.**

With little room to argue, Tala darted to the left, crouching down to where Kai's still form was on the other end. Jemma opened her mobile and shone the bright LCD light around, until she reached a nearby shelf. Next to the shelf was a tall pillar of some sort. Tala couldn't really see what it was. Jemma began to climb the shelf. Once she was high enough; she used the pillar as a lever and pushed all her weight against the shelf.

At first it didn't move but Jemma was not going to give up easier. After a few move pushes, the shelf began to wobble before finally tipping over and slamming into the glass. There came a dull _thud_ but nothing else. Tala's worry increased as Jemma slumped against the shelf.

Suddenly there came the faintest sound of cracking before the glass gave way. Tala covered his face as the glass hit the floor and the shelf landed with a loud and heavy thud. Neither Jemma or Kai moved for some time. Tala moved inside and shook Jemma. "Jemma? Can you hear me?" Finally Jemma grabbed Tala's arm and pulled herself up.

"I can breath again." she mumbled, rubbing her head. Tala smiled and rushed to Kai's aid. Just as he got to Kai, the lights came back on and the faint sound of running air from the air-con was heard. Jemma looked at the ceiling and shook her fists. "Damn bastards! Damn you all to hell!"

----------

Spencer, Bryan and Ian watched as Jemma and Tala dragged a half-conscience Kai between them. Spencer opened the passenger side door. "Miguel just radioed in. He says he heard about the Archive's power going off." Tala looked up at the blond giant while Jemma pushed Kai into the van, climbed in herself and slammed the door shut.

"And? Any idea on what the hell happened!? Everyone knew those two were down there!" Tala yelled. Spencer did not flinch.

"Miguel informed us that he tried to tell the guards not to shut off certain areas but Captain Placido did not listen. The parts that the power was cut off too also cross-wired with the Archives." Spencer replied as Lazzaro run up behind him. Tala stared in shock.

"Which means the Swiss guards have a mole in their ranks." Lazzaro muttered. Jemma rolled down down the passenger window and stuck her head out.

"Hello! People! The next Cardinal's gonna die! Huryy up!" She yelled. Lazzaro raced over to Jemma as Spencer climbed into the back of the van. Tala took the wheel. Jemma quickly informed Lazzaro of the next marker. The guard nodded his head and raced back to his car. "Follow Lazzaro. He knows where the next church is." Jemma informed as said black car zoomed past. Tala kicked the van into high-gear and tore off after the guard. Jemma slid back a panel behind her head and looked at the other three. "Do any of you what's happening about Conclave?" she asked. Ian nodded his head.

"Yeah, Claude told us. That priest is gonna break Conclave and try to get everyone out. We also heard that he went to see the pope's coffin. Something about making sure the _Illumnati_ didin't kill the pope." The smallest russian informed. Jemma nodded her thanks and turned her attention to Kai.

"How ya feeling?" she inquried as Kai began to wake up.

"Like I've been hit by a bus." Kai shook his head and blinked a few times. "Okay. I'll be fine." Jemma raised an eyebrow but said nothing. The major worry now was the next Cardinal.


	9. Chapter 9

_Thank you to __**SchoolBoredom**__ for her review_

* * *

**Chapter 9:**

By the time the gang got to the church, there was already movement outside. Jemma scrambled out of the van followed by Kai. Lazzaro and the second in command joined them. Two nuns, a priest and the church janitor were all outside talking quickly to each other. Jemma called for their attention.

"_Non si puo entrare. E' stata chiusa presto._" The priest began waving his arms in the air. Lazzaro ordered the second in command to fetch something from the guard's car. Jemma rose an eyebrow.

"Closed early." She translated to Kai before turning her attention back to the people outside. "_Perche?" _She inquried, praying deep down she had said it right. It appeared that she had as the janitor butted in. Quickly as he could, he explained that someone had appeared and told them all the church was closed. The man had removed everyone and even laughed when threatened with the police. Jemma bit her lip. The second in command returned with a bolt-cutter.

"What's that for?" Kai questioned as second in command and another guard ran up the steps of the church. The guard tried to open the door, only to find it had been chained shut. Reaching inside, The second in command managed to cut the chain before disappearing inside with the guard. Kai looked up at Lazzaro.

"We wait here." His attention was turned to Jemma who ran after the guard. "Little one! Get back here!" Jemma spun round, half way up the steps, and shook her head.

"I'm going in. Wait out here Lazzaro. I'll phone you if I need help." Jemma continued on her way, aware that Kai was running up behind. Lazzaro shook his head a little before grabbing Tala's shoulder as he tried to run past.

"Let them go my friend. Kai is in good hands. Jemma is loyal to her friends to to end." The _Tornatore_ guard informed. Tala swallowed a lump in his throat.

"That's what I'm afraid of."

---------

The smell of buring flesh made Jemma's eyes water as she joined the second in command and the other guard. Kai held his _Glock_ tightly as he stared at the building. The church was lavish to say the least but Kai's crimson eyes locked onto a sickening sight right in front of them.

Wooden pews had been stacked high and blazing, adding to the all ready heady heat in the room. Above the fire was a figure held in place with incensor cables, spread eagle. At first Jemma wondered if the man had already died until he lifted his head and Jemma realed back in shock. "Master!" The second in command yelled and charged forward with the other guard. Jemma took after them, unaware that Kai had took off to the right.

The fire rose higher, hitting the trio and forcing them back. Santino Tornatore let out a loud scream of pain as the flames licked higher. Jemma caught sight of the brand on his chest but pushed it to the back of her mind. Grabbing an unburnt wooden prew, she rested it against one wall just below the first incensor cables. "Hold this steady!" She ordered and began to climb. The second in command was amazed at how fast Jemma could climb.

"Got it?" The other guard called up.

Jemma once again cursed her shortness and stretched as high as she could. She smiled when she grabbed hold of the cable. "Got it!" She yelled. Suddenly a gunshot rang and the second in command hit the floor. The wooden pew shifted to the right and Jemma lost her footing. The other guard tried to steady the pew when another gunshot was heard and he too fell to the floor. The pew fell away from the wall as Jemma grabbed the chain with both hands. "Shit!" She cursed.

Looking round from her position, Jemma caught sight of two-toned hair in the farest corner of the church. The air caught in her throat when it dawned on her that Kai was out-cold. There was nothing else to do but scream. "Lazzaro! Tal---" A third gunshot cut her off as the bullet cut the chain. Jemma hit the floor with a painfully thump but did not wait around.

Jemma knew that the killer was somewhere. She also knew she had to get help and fast. The last painful scream left Santino's mouth before his head fell forward. Jemma felt like crying but pushed all thoughts from her mind. Footsteps were behind her and Jemma scrambled along the floor, near to the burning wood. As she crawled away, her hoodie suddenly caught fire. "Crap! Crap!" Jemma managed to put the fire out before scrambling to her feet.

--------

Tala and Lazzaro waited outside. With no sign of Kai, Jemma or the Cardinal, tension was running high. Lazzaro turned to face another guard. "Something's not right." Tala mumbled. Lazzaro watched as Tala fingered the hilt of his _Glock_. The Tornatore guard checked his watch before turning to look at the guard again who was stationed next to the car.

"Call a fire brigade. Get them here as fast as you can." He ordered. The guard saluted his leader and pulled his mobile out of his pocket. Tala placed two fingers to his ear-piece and paled a further shade. He could not pick up Kai's ear-piece. All he got was static.

-----------

Scrambling to safty, Jemma slid under a golden coffin which she was sure housed someone's bones. The footsteps were getting nearier. Swallowing a lump in her throat, the british girl knew she was stuck like a rat until her eyes fell on a vent behind her. Using all her strenght, she kicked the vent until it opened up and crawled into the space. Jemma wasn't sure how big the vent actually was and cried out in surprise when she fell straight into a crypt below. "Ew!" Jemma hauled herself to her feet and tried to dust herself down.

Above her the fire crackled.

------------

Lazzaro stared up at the corpse of Santino Tornatore and began to pray heavily. He was not alone. With him were two other guards. Tala shook his head before walking over to one of the fire brigade members. Before he could ask questions, Spencer made his way over to him. "I can't find Jemma or Kai. I did find this." In Spencer's hand was Kai ear-piece.

It had been crushed.

Tala stared at the item before turning away. Spencer clasped a large hand on the red-head shoulder. "I'm okay." Tala whispered and turned his sights to the fire brigade. "Did you find any other bodies?" He inquried. One man shook his head.

"Nope. Just these two and the Cardinal. That's all." He answered. Tala cursed and slammed a hand on a nearby wooden pew. The fire brigade continued to gush water over the smoldering pile. Lazzaro finished his pray and pulled his phone from his pocket. As he mauled over the best way to inform the Tornatore family, his phone buzzed into life. Lazzaro stared at the the screen as the caller I.D flashed _Jemma_. He quickly answered it. "Little one?"

_"Lazzaro! Look can you do me a favor. Can you stop the water flowing into the crypt. I'm sort of getting soaked."_

Lazzaro silently ordered the fire brigade to stop what they were doing. They did, casting confused and angry looked at the head Tornatore gaurd. "Little one, where are you? Where's Kai?" Lazzaro asked. Tala stood near him listening to every word spoken.

_"Kai's not there? Shit, this problem's just got worst. I have an idea. Listen out for something. Don't ask me what. You'll know it when you hear it."_ Then Jemma cut off. Lazzaro stared at his phone in confusion before hearing a tiny sound. It was clearly not his mind playing tricks when the other two guards, Tala and Spencer all looked round.

"Over here!" Spencer called. The group followed him to a golden cover. The bulking blond shoved the remaining pews out of the way. A fire brigade member pulled a crow bar into place. With a few grunts and groans, they managed to lift the cover up where it clanked against the stone floor. Not a moment later a skull flew through the air.

"Sorry!"

Lazzaro peered into the hole to see Jemma smiling back up. One arm of her hoodie was slightly burnt, she was covered in dust and cobwebs and now looked slightly soaked. The head guard smiled back and pulled the british girl out of the crypt. Jemma had barely gotten her feet on solid ground when Tala grabbed her by the shoulders. "Where's Kai? What happened to him?" He questioned almost shaking Jemma. The british girl pushed him away and dusted herself down.

"I think the killer has him." She began. The group all fell silent as Tala rushed to wipe away a few tears. Jemma chose to ignore the act. "As I was hanging on for dear life, I caught sight of Kai in the corner of the church to the right. He looked to be out cold. If he's not here now then that means the killer has him." Tala turned and stalked towards the exit. "Red? Where ya going?"

"I'm going to find Kai. I have to save him." Jemma placed her hands on her hips.

"And where are you going to start looking? The best idea would be to stick with me. The killer won't hurt Kai until he's killed the final Cardinal. You can get the bastard then." She pointed out but Tala shook his head. Instead he placed two fingers to his ear piece as Jemma turned to look at the next marker.

------------

Bryan shook his head as Ian cursed to himself. Tala informed both of the currant problem and asked them to do one thing. Neither needed to be told twice. A few clicks of a mouse and a few tapping of keys brought up a new page on the computer. Bryan blinked in confusion. "Something's not right. Try it again." He ordered.

Ian began the process again only to end up with the same thing. Bryan cursed. "Tala. We can't get a signal. The homing beacon in the nano-bots must be bouncing off something." Ian stated into his ear piece. A loud string of curse words were heard coming from Tala's mouth at the news.

------------

_The Ecstasy of St Teresa _was a sight to behold. Jemma did not look at Tala as the russian joined her side. "Thought you were going to find Kai." She muttered. Tala jammed his hands in his pockets.

"Problems." Jemma could tell he didn't want to talk about it and left the conversation hanging. In the background Lazzaro was on the phone explaining to a sobbing Angela about her son's death. "Any ideas?" Tala asked. Jemma bit her bottom lip and scanned the spear the angel held. Following it's direction Jemma stared hard at the brick wall and cursed.

"Anyone tell me which direction that is?" She called turning back to the group. Police had arrived as well but Lazzaro had ordered them to stay away from Jemma and Tala for the time being. The cheif of police shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not sure. West maybe." He watched Jemma's expression as she talked quietly to Tala. Whatever she had said caused Tala to shake his head feverishly. She patted his arm, clearly not angry at the red head. Jemma turned back to the cheif.

"I need a map now." Her request was met when a fire bridage member handed her a map. Spreading it out onto the altar, Jemma scanned the area. Beside her Tala and Lazzaro listened carefully. On the opposite side of the altar, a police office wanted to ask questions despite Lazzaro's warning. Silently Jemma tracked down where the first three churchs were. She glanced up; noticing a pen in the chest pocket of the officer.

"You using that?" Before the officer had time to reply, Jemma pulled the pen out of his pocket. The pen lid went flying over her shoulder as she circled the three churchs. Then Jemma tapped the pen hard against the map. The officer rolled his eyes.

"This is a waste of time. Miss I need to ask a few questions. Miss?" The officer grunted. Jemma tapped the end of the pen against her bottom lip.

_'Cross Rome?_ Jemma wondered. She joined two of the markers before drawing a large cross on the map. Now it all made sense. "_'Cross Rome the mystic elements unfold_! Galileo's tribute to both science and God!" Jemma cheered. Lazzaro lent forward amazed at the find. Tala traced the map again.

"So where's the final church?" He inquried. Jemma pointed to a fourth marker.

"Not a church. A fountain. One of Bernini's most celebrated pieces of artwork. _The Fountain of the Four Rivers_." Tala looked at Jemma who nodded her head. Even Lazzaro agreed. Tala smiled.

"So what are we waiting for?"

------------

Leaving confused police and fire bridage members behind, Jemma eyed a motor bike which was parked by the church. Lazzaro caught her idea and whispered something to Tala. The red head darted off to explain everything to Bryan and Ian. "Do you know the way to Piazza Navona?" Lazzaro inquried. Jemma turned and nodded her head.

"Grandfather took me there once." She grinned slyly at the Tornatore guard. "You going to let me steal a bike?" She joked. Lazzaro returned the smile as Tala rejoined the two.

"I'll turn a blind eye this once. Desperate times call for desperate measures." Lazzaro answered and made his way over to his car. Jemma grinned again and grabbed Tala's arm. The red head said nothing as he climbed onto the back of the bike with Jemma. Making sure no-one was going to stop her, Jemma kicked the bike into life and sped off. Behind her a black car and a black van followed.


	10. Chapter 10

_Thank you to __**SchoolBoredom**__ for her review_

* * *

**Chapter 10:**

"I didn't know you could ride a bike!"

Tala's voice was barely heard over the roaring sound of the motorbike. Jemma grinned as she rounded a corner. Tala's grip around her waist tightened a little. "I have a bike back home. Red one. A mate of mine in china owned it before tuning it up and giving it to me. Her father's head of a motor-bike business." Jemma explained. The russian nodded his head before glancing over his shoulder. He couldn't see Lazzaro or the Blitzkrieg division.

"We've lost the others." He pointed out nervously. Jemma did not slow the bike down. To her, every second counted.

"If your friends have any sense; they'll stick with Lazzaro. He knows where the fountain is." She replied. Tala chewed his lip but said nothing else.

-------------

Finally the pair reached Piazza Navona. Jemma cut the engine of the bike and flicked the stand up as Tala got off the bike. The English girl moved the bike into an alley and crept a little closer to Tala. The red head held his glock tightly. "Anything?" she whispered. Tala shook his head. At the moment, everything was still. Jemma checked her phone. "We have 15 minutes."

Tala's grip on his glock did not losen. "Where do you think the killer's taken Kai?" Tala asked suddenly. Jemma chewed the inside of her mouth.

"The church of Illumination. That's where the killer held the Cardinals." Silence past between the two. "He'll be okay Tala. I promise right here and now I'm gonna get him back." Jemma added. Tala glanced over to the pint-sized Brit and returned her smile. Both their attention was turned to a van as it was driven into the Piazza. Jemma grabbed Tala's arm, pulling him closer into the shadows. The van circled round the Piazza without its headlights on. It finally parked near the fountain and was still.

"Is that the killer?" Tala whispered never taking his eyes off the van for a second. Jemma frowned and tightened her grip on her bag straps. Something didn't feel right.

"I'm not sure. Wait here for a bit. We've still got sometime left." Tala nodded his head and the pair waited silently. The last thing they needed was to jump on some poor innocent driver. Sometime later a police car parked up beside a cafe. The officers inside noticed the van and climbed out. "We'll let these guys do the snooping for us." Jemma added.

The first police officer walked towards the van and tapped on the driver's window. Words were exchanged as the driver got out. Tala frowned a little to himself. He had that gut feeling that he _knew_ the person. The officer and the driver continued to talk before moving to the back of the van. They were out of sight. The second officer moved round the back of the fountain towards the van. He too disappeared.

Suddenly a clock tolled 11 o'clock. Jemma cursed to herself. "Okay, enough of this bullshit." she hissed. Before either could move, the van's side door slid open. Something moved inside. Jemma began to run as the killer pushed an object into the fountain. As the object disappeared with a splash, Jemma threw her bag to oneside and jumped into after it. Jemma swam to the bottom of the fountain and found a terrified Cardinal at the bottom. He was bounded with thick heavy chains and on his chest was the brand of _Water._ Jemma reached for the Cardinal but was suddenly yanked up by her hair.

"I should have killed you when I had the chance." The killer hissed down her ear. Jemma refused to wince in pain as the grip on her hair got tighter.

"Fuck you!" Jemma swore. The killer growled. Another splash was heard and a gun was cocked in the killer's direction.

"Let her go right now!" Tala spat. The killer chuckled and threw Jemma to oneside. The British girl managed to stop herself from slamming into the side of the fountain. She took a deep breath and disappeared underwater again. Tala kept his eye trained on the killer. "Where is Kai Hiwatari?" He hissed. He couldn't really see the killer that well in the dim lights.

"Oh don't worry Tala. Kai's not hurt....yet." The killer stepped forward and Tala gasped. His glock lowered slightly.

"Barthez?" he whispered. Shaking his head, Tala aimed his glock back at Barthez. "Where the fuck is Kai asshole! If you don't tell me, I'll blow your brains out right now!" Tala warned. Jemma came up for air. She watched the exchange for a few minutes then disappeared again underwater.

"You'll never find the location of the church if you kill me Tala." Barthez chuckled. Tala snorted to himself and motioned quickly to Jemma under the water.

"I have an ace." He retorted. His _ace_ came back up for air. She seemed panicky and paler then usual. To Tala that wasn't a very good sign. Barthez continued to smirk.

"Tala! I can't get him out of the water! He's fading fast!" Jemma squeaked. Tala lowered his guard for a split second which gave Barthez enough time to attack. He launched forward, ready to pound the hell out of Tala. "Look out!" Jemma yelled. Tala turned fast and fired. Barthez jerked back as a bright red cloud burst from his shoulder. Barthez cursed and took off back to the van. Tala did not follow. Instead He took a deep breath and followed Jemma down to the Cardinal.

Things were definitely not good.

The Cardinal's eyes had rolled back and there was no sign of breathing. Tala looked over to Jemma who pointed to a shallow part of the fountain. Between them, they managed drag the Cardinal to the shallow end of the fountain. Suddenly three pair of hands took hold of the chains and dragged the Cardinal out of the fountain. Jemma swam back up and gasped in another lungful of air. Tala joined her. At the side of the fountain, Lazzaro and two other guards tried their hardest to revive the Cardinal. Ian and Bryan stood next to the fountain.

"Someone drop this?" Ian asked, holding Jemma's bag. The pair swam to the edge and were helped out. Jemma and Tala sat on the edge, shivering slightly from the cold night. The red head stared at his hands. "You guys aren't going to believe this." He muttered. Ian and Bryan looked at each other.

---------

Nathan, Sophia and Sean remained glued to the T.V as the report continued on.

_"So no news about the bomb threat on the Vatican. As you can see behind me, more black smoke is seen which means more spiritual anguish for millions around the world. The Vatican has releashed no new information on the matter. Rumors are that the __**Tornatore Family**__ are in deeper anguish are their son is missing. We will have more as we try to get the information to you."_

-----------

Kai woke to pain and discomfort. The smell of rot and mold was strong in his nose. The russian rolled onto his back. Lying on an old bed, the russin stared at a wooden ceiling. At first he wondered where he was and what he was doing there. Then it all came flooding back.

He remembered seeing something in the corner of the church while the other's had gone to save the Cardinal. Then everything had gone black. Another wave of pain shot through his shoulder-blades and Kai began to panic.

It hadn't been the first time he was tied up but each time it had happened, terrible things awaited the russian. He loathed being tied down at all, something Kai shared with Tala. Kai's wrists were tied behind his back and his feet were also bound together. A sudden chill swept through the room from an open door. Kai blinked a little.

_Is that....Is that the Vatican?_

-----------

**"WHAT!"**

The yell was loud enough to be heard by Spencer who sat in the Blitzkreig van. More Tornatore guard had arrived to take care of the Cardinal. Ian surpressed the urge to shake Tala. "Are you sure it was Barthez?" The short russian asked. Tala flexed his knuckles and nodded his head. Every ounce of his body shook in both anger and cold.

"I saw him with my own eyes. He stood right there, laughing at me." Tala slammed a fist down onto the edge of the fountain. "Should have shot him in the head!" he spat. Bryan placed a calming hand on Tala's shoulder.

"Did he say where Kai was?" Bryan questioned. Tala shook his head. "Shit. We're screwed." Bryan added. Ian shook his head and pointed to Jemma who had taken a sudden interest in a lone pigeon. Tala watched her silently as she jumped from her perched and stared harder at the pigeon. Tala did have to admit he found it a tad odd how the bird hadn't moved an inch since everyone had arrived.

"Jemma can find it. She's found the other places so far." Ian stated encourgingly. Jemma took no notice as she reached back into the fountain and pulled out a handful of coins. Ian frowned. "What are you doing?" The British girl said nothing and threw a coin at the bird. Tala jumped up.

"This is no time to be chasing away pigeons!" he yelled.

**-CLANG!-**

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at the bird. "Did that just...." Bryan trailed off and grabbed a coin from Jemma's hand. He threw it hard at the bird. The same sound was heard. "It did." Jemma dropped her coins and scrambled over to the design, climbing over arms and heads. She reached the base of an obelisk at the back and managed to get a closer look at the _pigeon_.

"Aha! I knew it!" She cheered. Dispite being freezing cold and slightly worn out, Jemma felt the urge to do some sort of victory dance. A voice from below caught her attention.

"What it is little one?" Lazzaro called up. From where she was; Jemma could see that the other Tornatore guards had taken the Cardinal away. She pointed to the bird.

"It's a dove! The lone dove is the pagan symbol for the angel of peace. _Let angels guard you on your lofty quest_!" Before the other's could question her further, Jemma turned in the direction the dove was facing. "Damn!" Her view was blocked causing Jemma to climb higher up. Tala yelled something about being careful but Jemma did not stop until she was as close to the dove as she could get. The sight to her was amazing. Turning to the direction once more, Jemma tried to scan the area. Jemma blinked a few times before a wide grin appeared on her face.

---------

From down below Tala, Ian, Bryan and Spencer (who had joined them) watched Jemma dance around in circles for a few seconds before she began to climb down the fountain. "I take it the dance was a good sign." Bryan grumbled. Jemma slid down one side and was caught by Lazzaro who helped her onto the floor.

"I know where Kai is. It's so simple, it's just stupid." Jemma grinned. Everyone crowed round. "Lazzaro go back to the Vatican. The Swiss guard have a mole and the safety of Father Edward and Angela is at its highest point." Jemma began. Lazzaro chewed his bottom lip nervously.

"Will you be all right?" he inquried. Jemma gave him a point blank look as if to say _'Hey, it's me!'_ Lazzaro grinned and saluted his friend. "Return to us in one piece little one. The family could do with your company." With that he left to go to his car. Jemma smiled and turned back to the Blitzkrieg division.

"You guys go with him. I'll go to the next location alone." She grabbed her bag and went to walk away back to the stolen motor bike. Suddenly Tala grabbed her wrist. The russian looked at his friends who stared at him slightly confusion.

"Go back to the Vatican. Help the Barthez Division with their search." Bryan gave a small nod and raced back towards the van. Ian could not say anything and followed Bryan. Spencer watched Tala before handing the red head another clip for his glock. Tala nodded a small thank you and watched blond take off. Jemma rolled his eyes.

"I can look after myself. I'll bring Kai back. I promised you didn't I?" she grumbled. Tala shook his head. Checking the clip in his glock, Tala smiled a little and reloaded it. He placed it back in it's holder and followed Jemma to the motor bike.

"I own it to Kai. I can't let some sicko defile my boyfriend in anyway. I wouldn't forgive myself." Tala bumped into Jemma when she came to a sudden stop. "What? Was it something I said?" he asked. Jemma grinned childishly and shook her head.

"Nope. You've just confirmed what I knew was true all along." Jemma grabbed Tala's arm and dragged him the rest of the way towards the bike.


	11. Chapter 11

_Thank you to __**SchoolBoredom**__ for reviewing!_

* * *

**Chapter 11:**

The bike raced down _Lungotevere Tor Di Nona_. Both Jemma and Tala were silent for now, their minds focused on getting Kai back whatever the cost. Tala hadn't stopped to ask where Jemma was going but he had faith in her. Tala knew Jemma wouldn't lead him on a wild goose chase. So far she had been right about all the other places. Suddenly a building came into view, rising above from the right. Tala lent close to Jemma's ear. "What's that over there?" he asked.

"_Castel Sant' Angelo_. Castle of the angel." Jemma replied. Suddenly the bridge came into view and Jemma hit the brake and swerved. Tala's grip around her waist tightened as the bike shuddered and groaned. The tyres squealed before coming to a stop inches away from the stone pillars blocking their path. "Ah...I forgotten one thing." Jemma chuckled nervously. Tala's grip did not loosen.

"Forgot what exactly?" The red head muttered. He slowly let go of Jemma and got off the bike. His legs shook a little but Tala willed the feeling away. Jemma got off the bike and moved it to the side of the bridge. She flicked the stand on and dusted herself down. Tala watched as Jemma pulled off her tarnished and burnt hoodie and stuff it in her bag. She turned back round to face Tala.

"It's zoned pedestrians only. Something about preserving the building." Jemma explained. Tala eyed the bright green _Optimus Prime_ head, on Jemma's T-shirt, that stared back at him. Without another word, the pair made their way across the bridge. Either side of the duo were a processin of Bernini angels. If Jemma didn't have other pressing matters at hand, she would have stopped to admire each and everyone of them. She made a mental note to do so one day. Once the pair finally got to the entrance, they ran into a little snag.

"It's shut!" Tala groaned. Jemma grabbed his hand and led him round the castle.

"There's gotta be another way inside."

----------

Inside the building, Barthez tended to his wounded arm. He hissed a little in pain before turning his attention to the russian behind him. Despite being tied up and gagged on the bed, Kai managed to let a few chuckles escape his mouth. Barthez growled lowly. "And what's so funny?" He snapped. A sly smirk was painted on Kai's face but he merely turned away in reply. Barthez stood up and stalked over towards Kai who turned back to look at him.

The backhand slap was deafening in the silence. Kai did not flinch or wince much to Barthez's anger. The smaller russian stared heatly back at his kid-napper as a red mark appeared on his cheek. Barthez knew his boss would be upset if Kai was damanged in anyway. In the end, Barthez returned back to his chair and began to clean his wounded shoulder again.

----------

Tala felt the urge to pull his hair out. Their search for a entrance had turned out to be fruitless. The red head kicked the wooden door infront as Jemma turned to look at something behind them. "Hey Tala. Didn't Bryan say the homing whatcha-call-it was bouncing off something?" Jemma suddenly asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Tala turned to the direction that Jemma was facing.

"Think that might be doing it?" The British girl inquried. Behind them was another reporter's van with a large satellite on the roof. Tala placed his hands on his hips.

"I'll be damned." he mumbled. He watched Jemma run off towards the van and followed. To him there didn't appear to be anyone inside but the pair were running out of options. Jemma rapped her knuckled hard on the glass of the driver's door and waited. Slowly the window was rolled down and a young male peered out at the duo. "We need your he-"

"Michael!"

The male glanced down at Jemma who grinned madly back at him. The male smiled back. "Jemma Aeris Scott. Well I'll be! Didn't think I'd see you again." Michael Parker leaned further out of the window.

"Same here my friend. What are you doing here?" Jemma inquried. A second figure moved behind Michael and peered out behind wire-framed glasses. Jemma gave her the thumbs up. "All right Em!" she greeted. It was clear that _Em_ had been asleep. She yawned to herself and lent against Michael's back.

"Hoping to get some action at St. Peter's. Couldn't get past the traffic so ended up here." Michael chuckled at Jemma's confused look. "Yeah we're reporters. You heard right." Jemma shook her head in surprise.

"Have you seen anyone enter the castle? Or perhaps leaving?" Tala asked suddenly. He was beginning to feel a tad left out. _Em_ nodded her head and rubbed her eyes a litte.

"Yeah, a silver van. Been going in and out all night. Lucky sod. Bet he's got a good view point." _Em_ complained. Tala cursed to himself. It was clear they also tried to find a way in but they couldn't find one either. Jemma eyed their satellite closely, noticing it was on what looked like a collapsible appendage.

"Emily, Michael. How high does that thing go?" Jemma questioned. Emily York and Michael looked at each other before looking back at Jemma.

"About 15 meters. Why?" Michael asked. Jemma quickly explained her plan. Tala seemed to agree to it, anything to save Kai. Emily woke up instantly and shook her head. Michael jolted back. "Are you fucking insane? That thing cost 2 grand! There's no way I'm letting you two use it as a ladder. Forget it!" Michael yelled. Tala panicked slightly.

"But...You gotta trust Jemma. You're friends with her after all." he imputted. Emily shook her head and cleaned her glasses.

"We knew her in college. Wouldn't say we were _best_ friends. If you'll excuse us, we hav--" Emily was cut off by Jemma who stared at Michael.

"You own me." she simply stated. Michael went to open his mouth but closed it again. "Don't denie the fact you own me big time. We made a deal Michael. You can't back out now." Jemma stated. Michael slumped against his seat and sighed. "So are you going to help or do I have to tell both Emily and Tala why you own me?" Jemma grinned evilily. Michael shuddered a little.

"All right. All right!" he cursed. Jemma jumped twice and clapped her hands.

-----------

Lazzaro hushed both Enrique and his grandmother into a empty room. The giant glanced round; making sure no-one was watching. Enrique could sense that he was nervous. Finally Lazzaro turned back to the pair. "Listen very closely. Lock the door from the inside. No matter what, do not open the door. Even if the Swiss guard are on the outside. I will come and collect you when everything is over. Understand?"

"Sure Lazzaro."

The giant ruffled Enrique's hair and smiled at him. Angela placed an old hand on Lazzaro's arm. "Will Jemma come back to us?" she inquried. Her voice was slightly hoarse from all the crying she had been doing. Lazzaro knew he couldn't let her see how her son died. It would break her completely. Lazzaro nodded his head.

"Of course my lady. This is Jemma after all. I bet she has a plan to return as we speak."

---------

"Do you have an kind of attack plan?"

Jemma shook her head. "Do I look like a person with a plan? I make most of this shit up as I go along." she admitted. The duo gripped the top of the satellite as it climbed higher and higher. Finally Tala reached out and grabbed the top of the first bulwark and climbed onto the wall. Once he had disappeared onto the lower bastion of the castle, Jemma quickly followed.

"You two okay?" Emily called up. Jemma's head popped back into view and gave the thumbs up.

"We're fine. Thanks! Oh and Michael!" Jemma waited until she could see Michael's face. "You're debt has been repaid. Thanks a bundle!" Then Jemma was gone. Emily turned to Michael as he lowered the satellite and drove away from the castle wall.

"So why did you owe Jemma?" Emily inquried. Michael winced a little.

"You don't wanna know."

-----------

Thankful that there was some light from the flood-lights, Jemma led Tala through the outer bulwark. The Britsih girl paused and looked round. Out of the corner of her eye, Jemma knew Tala was getting restless. Finally Jemma took off and scrambled down to the courtyard. Tala chewed the inside of his mouth. "How do we get in?" he inquried. The pair had spotted two doors but both were pad-locked.

"Tala!" The red head followed the sound of Jemma's voice. She stood in front of a gravel drive cutting across the courtyard. So far Tala couldn't see anything of help. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. There was silence before Jemma took hold of Tala's hand. "Come on. I found the route!" she cheered.

---------

Nathan tried to reach Jemma on her mobile once more. Like before he was greeted with her answering machine. Sean glanced over to the worried male. "Anything?"

Nathan shook his head. "Nothing. Either she's ignoring me, too busy or the batteries are dead." Nathan sighed. Sophia smiled warmly at her son. Pansy had finally settled down her lap.

"Jemma wouldn't ignore you Nathan. She must be busy. Heaven knows what that girl could be doing." Their attention was turned back to the T.V. There was still no news despite the major problems that the Vatican faced at that moment. Nathan cursed and tried to ring Jemma's mobile again.

---------

Jemma's happiness were dashed. She came to a violent stop causing Tala to slammed into her back. "Oof! What's wrong?" Tala inquried, rubbing his chest. Jemma pointed into the tunnel.

"It goes down. It's the wrong way." she cursed. Tala's attention suddenly turned to a lone window when he saw movement. Jemma blinked and looked up towards the same window. "Did you see something?"

"Movement. Make a choice. Do we go down or find another route?" Tala inquried. Jemma bit her lip. She knew it would take too long to find another way into the castle. Time was not something they had at the moment. Finally Jemma grabbed Tala's hand again and led him down the tunnel. As the pair went further down, light began to disappear. Jemma cursed and began to grope for her phone. Tala beat her too it and pulled out a golden lighter. It didn't give out a lot of light but it would have to do.

Tala gathered they had entered a large chamber when the floor beneath them leveled out. Tala stopped and tried to examine the walls, trying to get some bearing. Jemma continued on regardless of the failing light.

**-THUNK!-**

Tala swirled round. "Jemma?"

"Mother pus-bucket! That was my god-damn fucking knee!" Jemma swore. Tala rushed to her side as Jemma furiously rubbed her knee-cap. She pulled the black and red fabric from the hole on her trousers as Tala lent closer to inspect the damage. A bruise was surely going to form. Tala looked up.

"You okay?" Jemma nodded her head, wiping away a few unshed tears. Tala stood up. "What did you hit?" He asked. He blindly groped the air in front of him before feeling a handel. He pulled hard, opening a vehicle's door and setting off the inside light. The silver van that they had seen at the fountian was sitting almost innocently. Tala peered inside but found nothing of interest. Jemma had already slid the side door open and began to root around. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for a weapon. If this guy is really dangerous; it would seem stupid go after him without one." Jemma pulled out a steel pipe. "Beside you have your gun. I've got nothing." Jemma took a few test swings and smiled. "Steel pipe of justice reins supreme." she chuckled. Tala rolled his eyes and flicked on the van's head lights. The chamber lit up brightly causing the pair to shield their eyes a little.

"There's no way out. We came the wrong way." Tala pointed out. Jemma looked round. There was no way out. Jemma was silent, unable to give Tala a reply. The russian growled loudly and kicked the van tyre. Jemma blinked as she eyed something on the wall.

"Hold the phone." she mumbled. Tala watched as she touched a red stain on the wall. Stepping closer, he figured out it was actually blood. "It's still wet." Jemma pointed out. She followed the line of blood with Tala close behind. After a while the line of blood came to a corner of the chamber and seemed to disappear. Jemma bent down and examined a block on the floor. The block was cut into a perfect pentagram.

"Hey Jemma! Check this out." Tala called. Jemma looked in the direction of his voice but found no Tala. Jemma felt a rise of panic in her chest and stood up quickly. Suddenly Tala appeared from the wall. "Over-lapping walls. We were going the right way after all." he smiled. Jemma smirked and followed Tala into the narrow passage way.

----------

The duo burst into another room. Tala took a quick breath in while Jemma had a hard time controlling her breathing. There was single torch glowering on the wall. Tala looked round. His eyes finally fell on a dozen tiny cells. "Jesus. Jemma, come and look at this." Tala mumbled. As he got closer he could smell the rusting metal of the cells. Inside the first four were clothes. Jemma gasped as she joined Tala.

"This was where he had the cardinals. I was right." she whispered. Tala continued on, checking the other cells for any sign of Kai. He was disappointed to find none. He turned to find Jemma peering at anothing door. Above was a beautifully craved angel. Tala noted the blood led in the other direction and gently tugged Jemma along with him. She quickly followed closely behind.

"Do you think these stairs are safe?" Tala asked. Jemma frowned a little. The stair in front of them were a little weather-worn and didn't look all that safe, but Jemma did not tell Tala that. Instead she took led.

-------

Kai watched out of the corner of his eye as Barthez placed something under the bed. Barthez rose again, testing his shoulder before hovering over Kai's form. "My boss will be placed to see you again Kai." he taunted. Kai blinked in confusion. He had no idea who Barthez was talking about. The bed tipped a little as Barthez climbed onto the bed with him. "We have a long wait ahead of us. Why don't we have a bit of fun before my boss arrives?" Barthez chuckled. Kai began to trashed wildly. Barthez slapped him hard once more but paused when he heard a gun cocking.

_"Get your slimy frame far away from Kai right now asshole!"_

Barthez slowly climbed off the bed and turned round. "Tala. You're weren't bluffing when you said you had an ace." Barthez replied. Tala motioned to the window.

"Move now. Get by the window." he ordered. Barthez smiled again and moved slowly to the window. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Jemma move quickly to Kai's aid. Once at the window, Barthez grabbed hold of some sand that sat on the window sill. "Turn around!" Tala yelled. Barthez did. Suddenly he tossed the sand at Tala who jerked back. The sand blinded him.

The first punch was aimed straight for his stomach, causing Tala to hit the floor. Barthez kicked the gun away from Tala's hand and booted him hard in the stomach again. Tala rolled onto his back. Barthez moved quickly when Jemma tried to hit him with the pipe. She stumbled at first but turned back round and took another swing at Barthez. He moved again and smacked the pipe out of her hands. "Aw crap." Jemma cursed as Barthez backed her in a corner.

"Now you'll die." Barthez growled and pulled out a gun. Jemma winced a little when she heard the gun click and waited silently for Barthez to pull the trigger.

**-BANG!-**


	12. Chapter 12

_Thank you to __**SchoolBoredom**__ for reviewing!_

* * *

**Chapter 12:**

**-BANG!-**

Jemma gasped lowly and looked down at her chest. She was surprised to find no blood or anything to suggest she had been shot. The british girl looked up slowly and watched Barthez hit the floor. Jemma blinked when she caught sight of the hole in the back of his head. "Okay. What the hell just happened?" She questioned. Her attention was turned to Tala first who was still trying to recover. Then Jemma turned to Kai who held a shotgun in his hands. "Where the hell did that come from?"

"Under the bed." Kai grunted and dropped the weapon on the bed. He tugged the gag away from around his neck and dropped that onto the gun. "You okay?" the russian inquried, standing up.

"Darling I haven't had this much fun for a while. I'm bloody fine. If anything your boyfriend will need your help." Jemma replied, pointing to a gasping Tala. Kai ignored Jemma for a while, making sure the red head was fit and able to move. Jemma's attention was already drawn to a wooden box on a table beside the bed.

"What's in there?" Tala asked. Jemma chewed her bottom lip before yanking the lid up. She stared wide-eyed at the items inside. Kai and Tala joined her side. "Are those what I think they are?" Tala asked quietly. Jemma fingered on of the items. Inside the box was five brands. The first one had been used on Aaron. The next four were the same ones used on the Cardinals. Jemma was speachless. Kai pointed to an empty slot.

"There's a brand missing." he pointed out. Jemma and Tala eyed the slot before Jemma shook her head wildly.

"There's no way there can be a 6th brand. There has always been five!" Jemma argued. Kai grabbed her by the wrist forcing her to look at him.

"Weren't the brands a myth to being with?" He asked. Jemma slowly nodded her head. Kai pointed to the brands. "Then maybe the 6th brand was kept a secret." he turned back to the box as Tala traced the pattern on the lid.

"This is a funny shaped brand. It feels like two keys." Jemma shoved him out of the way and eyed the pattern close. She gasped and backed away. "What? What is it?" Tala asked. Jemma had turned pale again. Tala shook her hard snapping Jemma out of her shock.

"They're going to brand the Camerlango! He's the next target!" Jemma almost screamed. She tore off out of the room and back down the weathered stairs. The two russians stared at each other before trailing after her. "We have to get back to the Vatican right now! Father Edward's life is in danger!" Jemma cursed, jumping clear of the last two steps. She wobbled a little as Tala and Kai came to a stop next to her in the cell room.

"And how do we do that? We won't be able to get back in time." Kai reminded. Jemma shook her head and pointed to the craved angel above a door.

"This route links the castle to the Vatican. This was how Barthez got the Cardinals from the Vatican to here. This is our ticket to saving Father Edward." Jemma replied. The two russian glanced at each other but decided to follow Jemma nonetheless

---------

The passage way was dank and smelt wet. Kai tried not to gag while Jemma seemed unaffected by the smell. She eyed the outline of a steel gate that loomed ahead and for a fleeting moment thought it was shut. The british girl charged at the gate and instead of slamming hard into it, the gate swung open. She stumbled but continued to run. "You hear that?" Tala inquried.

"That's St Peter's square. We getting close." Jemma called over her shoulder. They came to a second gate, heavier then the first. Despite it being unlocked as well, Jemma needed help opening it. The sounds of the square faded behind them as the trio continued to run. Kai began to wonder where the tunnel would end.

"Shit!"

Jemma slammed to a stop causing Kai to slam into her back followed by Tala. "What is it?" Kai grumbled. Jemma fingered the end of the tunnel. It looked like a dead end with no way in or out. Tala shook his head a little. There had to be a way out. Upon a closer inspection the red head found it to be a door.

A door without a lock, a handel, a keyhole....nothing.

Jemma began to pounded on the door hard followed by Kai and Tala. The trio began to scream and pound the door hoping someone would be able to hear them.

---------

Enrique glanced over to one side of the library. He was sure he heard something. He was not the only one. From her place at a polished wooden table, Anegla stood up and made her way towards the noise. Fearing for her life Enrique followed. The duo came to stop at a far corner. "I think its coming from here Grandma." Enrique called. The door was huge and made of iron. The banging was getting louder.

"Enrique, phone Lazzaro." Angela ordered. Her grandson nodded and pulled his mobile from his pocket. While the younger phoned for the head guard, Angela placed her ear against the door.

_"....Hey!.....open...."_

Angela frowned. That sounded just like Jemma. "Who's there?" The elder yelled. Behind her, Angela heard Enrique flick his phone shut. The younger joined her side.

_"Jemma....Kai....Tala..."_

Angela looked at Enrique. That sounded like Kai. But that was impossible. Both had heard he had been kid-napped. Another voice filtered through as Lazzaro entered the library with another guard.

_"Have....save...Edward! ....love....pagan....open....door!"_

Angela turned to Lazzaro. "Get the door open! I don't care how!" Angela moved to let the guard appronch the door. "Jemma said something about Father Edward. She said we have to save him. Lazzaro, something is terrible wrong." The elder warned. Lazzaro uncliped a walkie-talkie from his belt and barked orders into it. The guard called for attention.

"Sir. Someone's been using this door recently. There are keys in the keyholes." He informed. The pounding got louder.

_"....Fuck....open...ucking...door!"_

Lazzaro nodded his head and the guard grasp hold of the first key. He turned it, followed by the second key. Enrique rushed to his aid and between them they had managed to unlock the keys quickly. Lazzaro, Enrique and the guard pulled hard. The iron groaned but finally opened. In true Jemma fashion, no sooner had the door opened Jemma landed face first on the floor. "Jemma! Are you all right?" Angel asked.

"I'm fine." Jemma replied and got up. "Where's Father Edward?" She inquried.

"He's in a meeting with someone. The Swiss guard wouldn't say who." Lazzaro informed. Jemma, Kai and Tala all looked at each other. Kai grabbed Lazzaro's arm. To the taller male, The russian looked like hell.

"Where's this meeting?"

"In the Camerlango's office."

The trio bolted for the door. Jemma took lead, slipping on the floor as they barreled towards the office. The guard took off after them followed by Enrique. Lazzaro looked at Angela and was surprised to find his elder mistress holding up her dress and running along after them. With a somewhat defeated sigh, Lazzaro followed. Outside the Camerlango's office two Swiss guard's waited. "Halt!" One yelled.

"Open the door!" Kai ordered. The guards remained firm.

"The Camerlango's in a meeting. Under the order's of Captain Placedo, you are no to disturb...." The Swiss guard who spoke found himself pinned against the wall by Jemma.

"Who gives a fuck about him! Open the door right now or Father Edward will die!" Jemma yelled. Neither guard moved to open the door. Suddenly there came a ear-spliting scream. Growling at the Swiss guard's own stupidness, Jemma let go of the guard she was holding and kicked the door with all her might. It buckled slightly. With another hard kick, the door finally gave away.

------

Jemma gasped in horror at the sight before her. Father Edward lay in front of a burning fire clutching his exposed chest. Standing above him from a pale purple haired man holding a white hot brand. Kai and Tala were behind Jemma. Father Edward noticed them. "Get out of here! He'll kill us all!" He yelled before wincing in pain. The man turned round.

"Tala. Kai. So nice to see you again." he smirked. Tala pulled out his _Glock_.

"Bastard!" The Red head fired several shots in the man's chest. He only stopped when the gun clicked. The man staggered a little, knocking over a wooden chair before finally hitting the floor. Jemma raced to Father Edward who tried to stand.

"Who was that?" Enrique inquried. Kai helped Jemma move Father Edward to a spare chair. Tala reloaded his glock.

"Boris Balkov. He use to work for Kai's grandfather. What the hell is he doing here?" Tala answered. He walked over to the corpse and kicked it lightly just to make sure it was dead. There came a cry of pain from Father Edward as everyone tried to help clean his wound. Jemma took a step back and shook her head.

"We have to get you to a hospital. We have to get the rest of priests out of here. Like right now!" she stated. Kai stared at the brand on The Camerlango's chest as the Barthez Division barreled into the room.

"Jemma. The brand's upside down." The two-toned russian pointed to another picture of the two keys. "That's how it should go right? Boris used the brand upside down." Kai informed. Enrique shrugged.

"He wasn't a Catholic. How was he too know which way the keys went." Tala shook his head.

"That's not Boris. Attention to detail. That's his thing." All attention was turned to Jemma as she peered at the burn. Father Edward seemed to be thinking along the same lines as her.

" was killed on an upside cross because he believed he was not worthy to share the same fate as Jesus Christ." Jemma and Father Edward looked at each other.

"Upon this rock, I will build my church."

"Or bring it crumbling down upon itself." Miguel coughed loudly to get attention. It worked as everyone turned their attention to the Barthez Divison.

"We know where the anti-matter is." Miguel began. Jemma smiled.

"Way ahead of you. Its near the Tomb of ." Jemma was gone out of the door, followed by Father Edward who hastily covered up his burnt chest and ran to catch up. Kai and Taa were next, silently ordering the Barthez Division to follow. They did so without another word. Lazzaro looked nervously at his mistress. Angela smiled.

"Go with them Lazzaro. We shall be outside." she stated. Lazzaro nodded his head and took off after the rag-tag group. The guard still with Angela followed behind her and Enrique as the trio made their way to 's Square.


	13. Chapter 13

_Thank you to __**SchoolBoredom**__ for reviewing!_

* * *

**Chapter 13:**

Tala, Kai and the Barthez Divsion had no idea where they were going. They had kept close to Jemma who in turn kept close to Father Edward, as they made their way to the _Niche of the Palliums_. Mathilda eyed the place. It was a sucken chamber lit up by ninety-nine oil lamps. Father Edward was first, wincing a little over the pain in his chest. He descended down the stairs and disappeared from sight. Jemma was quickly behind him. It gave the others very litle choice to argue.

Once in, Father Edward tried to lift a heavy iron grate that was behind a golden box. Miguel blinked in confusion. Why ignore the gold box? What was its purpose anyway? Kai and Tala, sensing that Father Edward needed a hand, helped the priest lift the heavy grate where it clanked off the stone floor. "What's down there?" Miguel inquried. Jemma licked her lips.

"The most sacred place in all of Christendom." she began.

"_Terra Santa."_ Lazzaro mumbled. Everyone glanced over to him. "Holy ground. This is where 's St. Peter's tomb is." he added. Claude blinked in confusion.

"And the antimatter is down there?"

"You bet. _Upon this rock I will build my church._ Jesus had said those same words when he chose Peter as his first apostle. Peter's faith in the high almighty was...well... so unwavering that Jesus called Peter his rock." Jemma felt her hand tugged as father Edward entered the sacred place. Montioning for the other's to follow, Jemma continued on with her history lesson. "When Peter was killed and crucified, the early Christians had built a small shrine over his tomb. As the faith grew so did the shrine. Layer upon layer leading to this basilica." Jemma explained.

Lazzaro was last in. He rushed to catch up and handed Jemma a torch. She nodded her head and clicked it, lighting the way ahead for Father Edward.

--------

The rag-tag group desended further into the basilica. Mathilda was beginning to hate it. _I'm going to die down here! Or bloody break something! One or the other._ she cursed. The pink haired female kept in between Miguel and Claude. She didn't want to slow them down and frankly didn't want anything to do with the creepy place. However she was the one with the most knowledge on the antimatter chamber, she was needed.

As the group continued on to 's tomb Jemma's mind began to whirl. _But...if this Boris was not a Christian or had no knowledge of the inside of the Vatican....then how in the world did he know about the brands? And who could have helped Barthez with kidnapping the Cardinals? Could there really be a mole here?_ she questioned. Suddenly Father Edward came to a stop. Jemma managed to stop herself just in time.

"What is it?" Claude called from behind. In front of the group was a iron gate. Jemma shone her torch light on it showing the others behind her the three skulls on it. The gate blocked the bottom of the steps. Father Edward pulled the door open with force and made his way. Jemma continued on followed by the others.

---------

Mathilda shivered as they continued on their journey to 's tomb. "What is this place?" she called. Lazzaro rushed beside her. Jemma was too busy providing light for Father Edward to answer her.

"_Necropolis_. City of the Dead." he informed. Mathilda paled further but made her way behind Miguel. She couldn't back out now. They needed her! Kai and Tala noticed that the group now where suddenly going up hill. Kai paused breifly and waited for the Barthez Divsion. Unlike Tala and Kai, the Divsion hadn't had the same harsh training. They were looking more worn out by the minute.

Jemma eyed the floor as she ran behind Father Edward. _The hill? It's still here._ she shook her head a little. Jemma stumbled a little feeling tired. They had all run what they felt was a marthon. Slowly Father Edward came to another stop and eyed the wall of earth in front of him.

_Mausoleum S.  
La tomba di San Pietro._

At waist level was a hole. Father Edward waited as the other's joined his side. He allowed Mathilda to crawl in first. Father Edward was next while the others watched outside. The final resting place of St. Peter was a little small for them all. Mathilda gasped. "It's here! The antimatter is really here!" she yelled to the others.

"Okay Mathilda. Remember what I taught you." Miguel shouted back in reply. Father Edward helped her lay the antimatter flat and watched as Mathilda began the process of changing the battery. Suddenly she stopped.

"My dear? What's wrong?"

"It's cold down here, isn't it." Mathilda asked, her hands hovering over the antimatter.

"Of course it fucking cold down here! Hurry up!" Jemma urged. Goosebumps were riding up her arms but Jemma would be damned if she would put her hoodie back on. She watched in dismay as Mathilda backed away from the antimatter and shook her head wildly.

"If I change the battery now it will blow us all sky-high. The coldness has not helped the battery life. We have to get every single perosn out of here, right now!" Mathilda warned. There was silence.

**"NO!"**

Father Edward lunged for the antimatter and climbed out of the hole. "Father! Wait!" Mathilda yelled. Father Edward did not stop, grabbing Jemma's torch and taking off back the way they came. The group all stared at each other in shock before Jemma ran after him.

"Hey! Come back here! That's my torch!" Jemma yelled. Lazzaro ran after her followed by Kai and Tala. Miguel and Claude helped Mathilda out of the grotto before running full pelt to catch up.

--------

Nathan sat on the sofa of the apartment, watching the TV silently. He had given up trying to reach Jemma and prayed deep down that she would be all right. Talking was heard from the kitchen. "Nathan-kun? Coffee?" his mother called. Nathan smiled and nodded his head. When Sophia disappeared back into the kitchen, Nathan let out a rather depressed sigh. He was more then a tad worried for the blue haired nutjob he called his friend.

Suddenly there was movement on the screen. Nathan lent forward in his chair. He had already seen Angela Tornatore with his grandson. They were currantly sitting to one side under the protection of the _Tornatore guards._ This however was different. A priest carrying something in his hand came running out of the Vatican. "Mom! Sean! You'd better come and look at this!" Nathan yelled.

Sophia arrived first, handing her son a cup of coffee. Sean followed. The trio watched the priest rush towards the crowds. "What the hell is he doing?" Sean spluttered. There was movement again from the doors of the Vatican.

"Is that? Is that Jemma-chan?" Sophia inquried. Nathan nodded his head. There was no mistaking her hair or her fashion sense.

---------

Jemma, Kai and Tala came to a halt at the steps of the Vatican. "Christ! What the fuck is he playing at?" Tala cursed. Jemma watched as Father Edward made his way to a helicopter. The same one that had been called to take him to the hospital. Miguel, Claude and Mathilda came to a stop beside them.

"He's going up." Miguel began. The trio beside him looked confused. "That's the only way. If Father Edward takes the copter high enough maybe everything here will be uneffected by the blast." Miguel added. Mathilda shook her head, still fearful things could go wrong. Cluade clasped a hand on Miguel's arm.

"But...how will he surive?" The question was left hanging in the air.

---------

The pilot jumped in surprise when the passenger door was yanked open. A small object was placed on the seat before Father Edward managed to pull himself inside the copter. "Father?"

"Out now. I do not want any more deaths." Father Edward smiled at the pilot. "Trust me and believe in our lord." With that the pilot got out of the copter, allowing Father Edward to take his place. The media mob outside were scrambling to get a good enough picture and Christians alike where trying to see him. Father Edward paid them no mind as he began to take the copter up. Dust was kicked into the air.

Below Jemma watched. The copter was getting smaller and smaller by the minute. She felt something wet crawl down her face but did not bother to wipe it away. "He'll become a martyr for this." Tala whispered. Kai nodded his head before a sob caught his attention. Turning to right, Kai was surprised to see Jemma with her head in her hands and sobbing for all her worth.

"Jemma?"

"I'm f-f-..." Jemma tried to wipe away her tears and looked at the sky. There wasn't much time left now. The copter was no longer visible. "I'm...." Jemma burst into tears again. "I'm not O-fucking-kay!" She screamed and buried her head in Kai's chest.


	14. Chapter 14

_Thank you to __**SchoolBoredom**__ for reviewing!_

* * *

**Chapter 14:**

The media that had arrived at the Vatican all looked into the sky the moment the copter disappeared from view. It seemed, to Claude, that the whole world was watching and praying for Father Edward. _I hope he has a plan up there._ Claude thought. Jemma had only just stopped sobbing and turned her red raw eyes to the sky.

Nothing so far.

Mathilda was sure everyone watching held their breath and prayed. Then the bells of tolled. Jemma, Kai and Tala held their breath as well. High above the Vatican, a tiny white light was seen. Jemma glanced over to the Barthez Division, wondering if that was all of it. Mathilda took a small step back. Miguel stood in front of her to sheild from any damage while Cluade licked his bottom lip nervously. A tug of worry pull at the back of Jemma's brain.

Suddenly the ground began to shake as the tiny white light spread out across the sky. What was once darkness was now a blinding light. The group sheilded their eyes as best they could. Then the light stopped as if pushed back by some invisible wall. Somewhere deep inside the Vatican, something crumbled to the floor. Warm air was felt moving around. Dust swirled overhead as water from the nearby fountains was sucked up into the air. Mathilda looked around before seeing something. "Look!" she yelled out, pointing to something.

Everyone looked to the sky to see a figure desending down with a parachute. "Is that....Father Edward?" Miguel inquried. Jemma wiped her eyes.

"It is!" she cheered. Then just as quickly as it began, it was over. The sphere created by the light imploded. The shock wave sent Father Edward crashing into the side of a building, knocking him out. As the warm air continued to rise, it pushed him further towards the masses of people. The sphere sucked back in on itself but everyone's attention was now on the priest who was still falling to the crowd. "Someone! Catch that Priest!" Jemma yelled. She began to run down the steps towards Father Edward followed by Tala and Kai.

---------

_"This is coming to you live from the Vatican city. These are the facts so far. A supposed ancient group calling themself __**The Illuminati**__ planted a bomb underneath the Vatican and kidnapped the four cardinals chosen for the right of pope. What you saw behind me was the Camerlengo's attempt at getting the bomb far away from the crowd. What happened in the sky was the bomb ex---"_

_**"Out of my way!"**_

Nathan, Sophia and Sean all watched as the news reporter, Mariah Chang, was knocked out of view by a raging tornado of blue hair. Nathan burst out laughing at the camera spun round to watch Jemma. Sophia and Sean watched as he fell off the chair he was sitting on. Sean chuckled as well. "That's our Jemma." He mumbled.

"Is it another Scott Trait to be complete off their rocker?" Sophia questioned, a slim eyebrow raised. Nathn managed to regain himself and climbed back onto the chair. Sean stared at Sophia in mock shock.

"Now whatever gave you that idea?" he asked. Sophia rolled her eyes and returned her attention back to the report.

--------

A large crowd of people had managed to halt Father Edward before he crashed into anything else. Jemma was first to the scene, pushing everyone out of the way. "Come on! Father Edward!" She shook him gently, using her arm to cushion his head. His face was covered in cuts and bruises. Jemma felt his chest gently feeling a little blood. "Father Edward! You have to wake up." Jemma urged.

"J-Jemma?"

The British girl's face lit up as Father Edward opened his eyes. "Jeeze! You gave my one hell of a craptastic scare there. We all thought you were a gonner." Jemma grinned, motioning to Kai and Tala who came up behind them. Father Edward blinked groggily and stared at the sky.

"Jemma...I...I...I think I see heaven." he whispered in awe. Jemma glanced up to the sky. It was tinted with wonderful colours that no-one could find words to explain. Father Edward's thought of it being heaven seemed to fit perfectly. She smiled again and returned her attention to the camerlengo lying on her arm.

"Yeah..so do I. And the whole world too." Slowly Jemma helped him to his feet. "Let's you checked out huh?" Tala and Kai moved to either side of Father Edward. They supported him as the trio made their way back to the Vatican. Jemma tried her hardest to clear the crowd that began to gather around them. Thousands of people began to move towards the camerlengo. Each one wanted to touch him, hoping for their own little taste of heaven and god.

--------

The Sistine Chapel was alive with chatter. Despite not leaving _Conclave_, news of Father Edward's actions had reached the priests inside. Some of the Swiss guards were happy to relay every single piece of news that filtered to them. Everyone of priest inside talked loudly and quickly in their own groups. Two were currantly arguing over something. "Out of the question! He's not a cardinal." One of them huffed.

"You saw what he did! What happened was an act of God. God gave the Camerlengo his strenght to see this through. God acts through all of us!" the second priest pointed out. The groups were talking louder. A third priest held up his hands to signal silence.

"Wait a minute! Everyone! Shh!"

Silence befell the groups and they strained their hearing. Outside the Vatican, the mass of people that had gathered were singing. Their voices rose higher and higher as they sung loudly. "What on earth?" one of the priest mumbled. He looked around. "Is that coming from outside?"

"I believe so." The second priest smiled. "They are singing in praise to the Camerlengo. This proves that he should be made pope." he added. The first priest stared at him.

"How so?"

"Don't you remember? When a group freely and spontaneously proclaim one person's name aloud, they are electing him as pope." The first priest rolled his eyes.

"_Election by Adoration_." He mumbled under his breath. It had been a long time since he had heard that old rule. The second priest nodded his head wildly.

"Yes, Yes! Also the law states that Election by Adoration supersedes the cardinal's eligibility requirement. In otherwords he may not be a cardinal but if the world wishes it, who are we to disagree?"

The first priest turned back to the second priest. "If we all agree that the camerlengo is to become pope, he must be here. Someone get Lazzaro and get the camerlengo here." he ordered.

--------

The Swiss guard's office was awash with activity. Team Barthez, Team Blitzkreig and Jemma all sat to one side. Each of the cradled a hot drink offered by the guards. Jemma stared up at the ceiling. "Is Father Edward all right?" Bryan asked breaking the silence. Tala nodded his head.

"We took him to the infirmary. He should be fine but he should really get to a hospital. That burn looked nasty." The Red head grimaced. There came a small murmer.

"You know there's still one more thing." Mathilda began. The males of the group all turned to her. Jemma continued to stare at the ceiling. "Who started this all off? Who helped Barthez and Boris find those brands, kidnap the Cardinals and put the anti-matter under the Vatican without anyone knowning?" Mathilda wondered. Silence fell on the group again.

"Did you know there was a Pope John Anglicus that reined for two years before _he_ died?" Jemma asked suddenly. Everyone's attention was on her now but she continued to stare at the ceiling. Kai let out a long sigh.

"No but I'm sure you're going to tell us all about him." he grumbled. Spencer pulled the cup out of Jemma's hands as her grip began to loosen. A slow smile appeared on her lips.

"Pope John was in the middle of procession from St. Peter's to the Lateran in a lane once known as _Via Sacra_, or the sacred way. Half way there, he suddenly doubled over in pain. Right there in the middle of the street. People began to panick believing their beloved pope had been poisoned. Then this male pope suddenly gives birth in front of millions of people." Jemma licked her bottom lip. Ian raised an eyebrow.

"Gives birth? A man? Are fucking kidding us?" he snorted. Jemma lazily rolled her head to look at the group. There was a twinkle in her eyes but Kai could tell she was not joking the group around.

"No. There is a actual written document on this in the Vatican Archives....or at least I think so. Anyway everyone was shocked to see a pope give birth. Turns out _John Anglicus_ was actually female. The millions that had come to see the pope were out-raged and she was killed in the street along with her child. They say she was buried at _Via Sacra_. Even today, every single Pope who does the procession shuns that very street for some very odd reason." Jemma finished. Kai rolled his eyes skywards.

"And that has what to do with our currant problem?" Bryan hissed. Jemma shrugged.

"Not a clue. Thought you guys could do with some history." The others groaned and cursed at Jemma. "I do have something though. Could it be possible that the mole in the swiss guard worked for Biovolt before? You know since Boris had to have known the mole, to get anywhere near Father Edward." she inquried. Kai's eyes seemed to light up at the question. Tala, Spencer and Bryan also shared his sudden idea.

"Hang on a second here. Do we even still have that disk?" Ian asked. All eyes were on Spencer who nodded his head.

"They will be in the vans. All disks are kept locked and out of reach near the computers." The blond giant stood up. "I will go and fetch them." Jemma was on her feet next when Spencer had left.

"We're gonna need a computer. Wait here. I'll sweet-talk a guard." She took off with a slight spring in her step.

----------

Else where in the infirmary of the Vatican, Father Edward was having his wounds tended too. As the two nurses began to bind his branded chest, Father Edward winced in pain but said nothing else.

"Father Edward?"

The camerlengo's attention was turned to Angela, Enrique and Lazzaro as the trio made their way towards him. "Lady Tornatore. I am glad to see you are unhurt." he smiled.

"Father, what you did out there..." Angela could not find the words to describe the sceen. "You have done the Vatican and the Christian faith proud." the old woman smiled softly. Father Edward shook his head a little. All the praise he was getting was a little strange. His attention was on Lazzaro when the blond giant coughed.

"Father Edward when you are ready, the priests at _Conclave_ wish to see you." he informed. Swallowing down a small hint of dread, Father Edward nodded his head.


	15. Chapter 15

_Thank you to __**SchoolBoredom**__ for her review!_

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**Chapter 15:**

Bryan and Ian had waited for Spencer to return from the van. Once they were back in the office of the Swiss guard, the trio was ushered into a slightly smaller office. Ian whislted. "Jeeze! So what did you do to bag Placido's office? Offer a blowjob?" he chuckled.

"Oh no! No, No, No, No!"

The group turned to Jemma who continued to shake her mobile phone. "Come on baby. Don't fail on me now!" The british girl seemed to be losing it as she tried everything to get her phone to work. "Don't die on me! We've still got work to do! I still need you to work!" Jemma shook the object again but still nothing worked. Jemma dropped the phone onto the desk. "Bollocks!"

"What were you trying to do?" Bryan inquried. Spencer sat down in front of Placido's computer and switched the power on. It didn't surprise him to find that the computer was password protected. It didn't surprise his friends either that Spencer cracked the codes quickly. Jemma pouted and pointed to her phone.

"I need to phone my friend just to tell him I'm all right. But I had my phone in my trouser pocket when I took a swan dive into the fountain to save the Cardinal and..." Jemma trailed off with a slight shrug. Kai searched for his phone but was beaten by Tala who handed his phone to Jemma.

"I have enough credit for a text." He informed. Jemma's face lit up and she hugged the taller red head before yanking the phone from his grasp.

---------

Nathan felt his back pocket vibrate. He quickly stood up and pulled his phone from his pocket. "Who is it?" Sophia asked. Nathan frowned. He had never seen the number before in his life. Shrugging a little, the half japanese male opened the message.

_'Ring the following number!! Important!'_

Nathan chewed his bottom lip. Should he ring the number or not? After a while Nathan moved to the kitchen and began to dail the number on the apartment phone.

---------

"Anything?"

Bryan and Ian shook their head. Spencer had got the whole thing working. The entire list of former Biovolt members was running against the employee list of the Swiss guard and Vatican Police. So far there had been nothing to go on and the group seemed to be fast losing hope. Then Tala's phone rang. Before the red head had time to answer it, Jemma dived for the phone. "Hello. This is Arkham Asylum. Are you checking in or searching for a inmate?" Jemma greeted.

_"Jemma! Where the hell have you been? I've been trying to get hold of you!"_

Jemma held the phone away from her ear and rolled her eyes. She put the phone back to her ear and cradled it between her cheek and shoulder. "Whoa, slow down there slick. I've been busy running around Rome, trying to catch some psycho and on top of that my phone's dead." Nathan went silent.

_"Dead? What do you mean dead? You charge that thing up every chance you get. How could it be possi--"_

"Nathan, slow the hell down! You're gonna have a heart-attack or bust a nut, either way. By my phone being dead, I mean it's water-logged. I jumped into a fountain, trying to save a Cardinal from dying and my phone was in my pocket. You add up the rest." Jemma's attention was pulled towards the others. Something was clearly wrong.

_"Jesus. But you're un-hurt right?"_ Silence greeted Nathan. _"Jemma? Damn it answer me!"_

"I have to go. The final chapter to this story is drawing to an end. I'm okay. Don't worry too much and I'll be home soon. Trust me Nathan." Jemma ended the call, despite Nathan's pleads to stay on the line. The british girl moved closer to the computer as the men all stared at the face in front of them. "I take it you've found something." she mumbled. Spencer nodded his head.

"And you're not going to like it."

-----------

After escourting Father Edward to _Conclave_, Lazzaro found himself wondering about Jemma. He hadn't had much of a chance to speak with her since Father Edward's amazing act to save the Vatican. Lazzaro paused in his musing when he heard hurried footsteps running towards him. Jemma skidded round the corner followed by Kai and Tala. "Lazzaro! There you are!" Jemma cheered. Despite all she had through, Lazzaro wasn't surprised to see her smiling as she usually did.

"Little one, good to see you. What's all the rush for?" The giant questioned. The trio came to a stop in front of him. None of them seemed out of breath.

"Where's Father Edward?"

"_Conclave_."

"Angela?"

"In the library with her grandson. I've stationed some members of the guard there to keep an eye on things.

"Placido?"

Lazzaro blinked. "In his office I think." Kai shook his head. "Have you checked there?" Lazzaro inquried.

"Dude, we were in his office!" Jemma grinned. Something was clearly up. Lazzaro had never seen Jemma this excited over something before. The head of the Tornatore guards eyed the trio in front of him. "But seriously Lazzaro we need to find Placido. I think we've found out the culprit for all of this." Jemma added in a seriouse tone. Lazzaro nodded his head, unclipped his walkie-talkie from his belt and barked some orders into it. After a couple of minutes a reply was heard. Lazzaro nodded his head and clipped his walkie-talkie back to his belt.

"Follow me. I know where he is."

-----------

Placido paused when the door to his private chamber was knocked. He wondered if he should open it before deciding to do so. Placido raised an eyebrow when he saw Lazzaro. "Is everything all right?" Placido inquried. Lazzaro nodded his head.

"Of course. The injuried are being cared for, my mistress and young master are being looked after in the library and Father Edward has arrived at _Conclave_." Lazzaro informed. Placido wrinkled his nose slightly. "However that isn't why we're here. Can we come in?" Lazzaro added. Placido became confused briefly before spying a swish of blue hair behind Lazzaro and he growled lowly in his throat. Finally Placido shook his head.

"I was just heading out myself. Perhaps we can talk on the way to the _Conclave_ doors. I do wish to hear who has been chosen." Placido stepped out and locked the door to his chamber. Lazzaro glanced over to the trio behind him. Kai and Tala remained stone faced. Jemma bounced excited on the spot before nodding her head.

"That's cool. Really it just concerns you. I do believe we've found the person who kick started this whole mess off." Jemma eyed Placido's form.

"Really? Do enlighten me."

Kai and Tala moved the flank Jemma either side. "First off, why don't you tell us about your sister?" Tala began calmly. Placido's eyebrow twitched slightly.

"Where did you hear that from?" He questioned a slight growl in his voice. They were coming up to the Swiss guard office. There weren't many people inside which meant that most of them were still trying to sort out the mess left behind. Placido came to a brief stop by a rack of weapons. Lazzaro held up a hand.

"I sort of told them Placido. Don't worry. They won't use it for anything bad. I know how much you cared for your sister." Lazzaro informed. Placido nodded his head but said little else. Kai stratched his chin in mock thought.

"Cared? What happened to her? Did you lose touch or something?" he asked. Placido's eyes narrowed dangerously. Kai merely stared back. There was silence.

"She died. Some years back. Old history." Placido grunted and continued on. Jemma ran to catch up with him.

"I'm sorry to hear that. How?"

"She had a rare blood illness. The only way to save her was stem cell research." Placido went silent again as the group walked past the library. Lazzaro nodded to a guard in front of the door as he past. The guard knocked the door and waited. Angela appeared, a little confused. However once she saw Placido she waited silently.

"So what happened? Didn't it work?" Tala inquried. He flanked Jemma's left. Placido finally came to a sudden stop outside the doors of _Conclave_ but said nothing. Kai was fast losing it.

"Placido. Why don't you just admit that you worked for Biovolt." he snapped. Something flashed in Placido's eyes. "Where you faithful to your god back then as you are now?" Kai asked. Jemma shook her head, a slight smirk on her face. "Damn it answer me Placido!" Kai yelled. The towering Swiss guard leader spun round to face Kai.

"I was faithful to my god while I worked for your grandfather. I assume you already know that I left a full 6 months before your grandfather died. I mourned his passing I can assure you. By that time I was all ready working my way through the ranks of the swiss guard. I wanted to protect the Vicar of Christ by an means that I could. Until...."

Jemma filled in for him. "Until your sister fell ill." Placido nodded his head.

"She's close to me. The only way to cure her illness was by stem cell research but it clashed with my faith. I asked the holy father for help and advice and you know what he told me. _God has plans for all of his children. Even if it pains you, God has called your sister to heaven._" A hollow laugh escaped Placido's throat. He didn't notice that Angela had stepped closer and that the _Conclave_ doors had been opened.

"So what did you do? Leave?" Lazzaro inquried. This half of the story was new to him.

"Oh I left for a short while when my sister finally passed away. During that time I came back into contact with Boris who promised me I would get revenge on the people who had ruined my life. I found the brands in the library vault and the set of keys for the secret passage. The final piece of the puzzle was the pope." Placido grinned sickly at Jemma whoes hands had flown up to cover her mouth. "Oh yes Miss Scott. I killed the pope. Smothered him with his own pillow while the _Camerlengo_ slept like a baby. I always thought he was useless." he sneered. Jemma's hands were at her sides and were balled into fists.

"And the Cardinals?" Tala asked.

"Another part of Boris' plan. All four chosen for the altars of science." Angela was in front of Placido pounding her old hands on his chest, fresh tears in her eyes.

"You murdered my son! You bastard! How could you!" she screamed. Placido stared at the tiny old woman in slight shock before noticing that the cardinals inside _Conclave_ had heard everything. "I hope you burn in hell! You bastard!" Jemma grabbed hold of Angela and pulled her away. The old woman slumped against Jemma's chest and continued to cry. Placido backed up, unable to say anything else. Lazzaro's hand was on the gun at his hip.

"Placido, you are under arrest for the murder of Santio Tornatore...." Placido took off. "Hey! Get back here you son-of-a-bitch!" Lazzaro yelled. After making sure Angela was fine, Jemma took off after Placido. Kai and Tala looked at each other before following her lead. Lazzaro was close behind.

------------

He could hear them calling his name, shouting at him to stop. Placido knew he couldn't. He had to get away from them all. Thinking back to the plan, Placido remembered something Boris had told him.

_"If the plan has failed or they're figured out that you're involded do the right thing."_

The _Niche of the Palliums_ was coming into view. Placido quickened his pace. _I will do the right thing. I'll be with my sister again._ He grabbed a large candle as the group ran round the corner. They came to a stop, looking around for him. By that time Placido had already grabbed an oil holder and descended further into the _Niche_.

"Where's he gone?" Tala continued to look round. Jemma glanced up at Lazzaro.

"He couldn't have left. I ordered my guards to stand guard at the main doors. He couldn't have...." Everyone's attention was turned to the _Niche_ when an unholy scream was heard. The smell of burning flesh got stronger and stronger as Jemma got closer. Once there she stood and watched Placido's still form being eaten away by the fire.

---------

_"This just in! We can now confirm that white smoke has been seen! I repeat white smoke is seen from our position in __**St. Peter's Sqaure**__."_

Nathan turned the volume up on the T.V. The sky was already turning blue for another day. Sean and Sophia had left the day before, promising to keep up with the problems in Rome. Nathan continued to watch, sitting himself in front of the T.V.

_"The Cardinals have managed to select a new pope althought you're guess is as good as mine. We have reports in that the commander of the Swiss guard, Commander Placido Bettino has died trying to fight a fire that broke out in the Vatican. There have been no reports on the four Cardinals who were kidnapped. We will keep you informed as more information is giving to us."_


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16:**

There was a flurry of activity within the Vatican. Tala barely managed to make it past members of both the Swiss and Tornatore guards. The others were busy getting everything ready to depart and Tala had taken it upon himself to find Kai. The red head stopped when he caught sight of duel coloured hair. "Kai!"

The said russian looked up and smiled briefly when he caught sight of Tala. "Everything ready?" Kai inquried. Tala nodded when he came to a stop next to Kai.

"Yeah. They're just waiting for you." Tala frowned a little. "So why the sudden order to fetch a new set of clothes for you _and_ Jemma?" The red head asked. Kai returned to leaning against the wall behind him. There came a shuffle from behind a door to Kai's right. Tala raised an eyebrow.

"Would you believe that both me and Jemma have been asked to attend a meeting with the new pope. I just want to go home but you know how Jemma is. She's been like a kid at Christmas so hence why I ordered new clothes for both of us." Kai replied. Tala nodded his head slowly.

_"I like you so much better when you're naked! I like me so much better when you're naked!"_

Both males turned to stare at the door. Kai cursed under his breath. "She's been singing that song for the last 10 minutes. It's really starting to get on my nerves." More footsteps caught the pair off guard. Kai stood up and bowed towards Angela and Enrique. Tala joined him quickly. "Miss Tornatore. Master Tornatore. I hope you're feeling well." Kai began. Angela smiled.

"Please Kai. Tala." The pair rose. "You must address us as Angela and Enrique. You have done so much for the Tornatore family." Angela held up her hand when Tala went to argue. "Please, I insist. Have you seen Jemma?" Angela added. The door to Kai's right opened and Jemma entered the corridor. Gone was the tarnished outfit. Jemma grinned as she pinned a badge into place on her tie.

"Quite a little gathering here. You all waiting for little old me?" Once the badge was sorted, Jemma turned her attention to Angela. "Are you okay?" she questioned. The elder woman nodded her head and embraced the english girl in front of her.

"Yes." They parted. "I came here to say thank you for all you have done. For the church and for my family." Angela began. Jemma smiled again.

"Anything to help a friend. Are you heading home?"

"No. I'm on my way to see his holiness." Angela glanced over to her grandson.

"Where did you get that outfit? And where's the other clothes you worn? Got rid of them?" Enrique asked. Jemma giggled a little and picked up her backpack. The group made their way towards the Papel office.

"My other outfit is in here. Ain't getting rid of them. These are my D-day clothes. Gonna be telling a lot of stories." Jemma paused and glanced over her shoulder at Kai who stared back. "Thanks for the spare set of clothes. Who would have thought in a million years that I would be able to fit in your clothes!" Tala and Enrique glanced at Kai who merely rolled his eyes.

--------

The door to the Papel office was shut forcing the group to wait outside. The younger members of the group allowed Angela to sit in the only chair outside the office. The group however found they didn't have to wait too long before the door was opened. Father Edward smiled at them. "I'm so glad to catch you all before you leave." Jemma, Tala and Kai hung back as Angela and Enrique greeted the priest. Jemma watched Father Edward closely. There was something different about him but she just couldn't think what it was.

"Mister Hiwatari?"

Kai jolted from his own day-dreams and greeted the priest. "Please just call me Kai. I hate all this _Mister_ stuff." Kai replied. Father Edward nodded his head.

"Of course. I would like to personally thank you for all the help you have given us. You're company will not be mentioned in any new reports about this problem. My way of repaying the debt." Father Edward informed. Kai smiled as best he could. To him, he really wasn't a lot of hlp. He was kid-napped for Christ sake! There were other people, like the Barthez Division, that did more of the work. And of course someone else who hadn't sad too words since Father Edward arrived. Letting go of Father Edward's hand, the russian motioned to Jemma.

"I'm not the one you should be thanking really. If Jemma wasn't here then...." Kai let the thought hang in the air. Understand where the russian was coming from, Father Edward smiled at Jemma and motioned for her to follow him into the office. Jemma was stunned a little before regaining herself. Accpeting Tala's offer of looking after her bag, Jemma followed the priest into the Papel office.

---------

"I started to wonder how I should repay you for your help today."

Jemma raised an eyebrow. "Help? Well I would have done what any art lover would have done." Jemma crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged a little. "But in my pursuit of saving a huge piece of art...I pretty much destoryed the Archives." Jemma looked away and chewed her lip. "Sorry about that. My chances of visiting again are blown for sure now."

"Ah yes well. I suppose those things can't be helped. I'm sure I can explain how the archives got into such a mess." Father Edward paused and moved to stand behind the Pope's desk. It seemed funny to Jemma how the journey would come full circle back to the very room where everything kicked off. Father Edward pulled open a drawer and pulled into view a strange looking box and a letter. Before he was able to talk, Jemma placed her hands on the desk.

"I'll help clean up the mess. You say the wordand I'm there." she offered. Father Edward blinked.

" I couldn't ask that of you. You don't need to worry about that." There was a brief silence between the pair. "I heard that you started your research into the bible because of the Templars."

Jemma grinned and nodded her head. "You bet! I've always found them interesting. Such a shame that the church believed them to be devil-worshippers." she replied.

"You believe that they were innocent?"

"Yes."

Father Edward smiled again and handed Jemma the letter first. "Then this will be of interest to you. I would like to hear your opinion on it. When everything else is cleared up, this will be published so the whole world may know. Please." Father Edward waited by the desk as Jemma began to scan the information infront of her. Father Edward's grin grew as Jemma's eyes widened.

"Holy mother of mutant blue cheese!" Her eyes were on the priest in front of her. "You serious?" She inquried.

"Of course. This is one way of repaying yo.." Father Edward latched onto the side of the desk as Jemma glomped him tightly for all her worth. Father Edward blinked, trying hard to get rid of the blush that stained his cheeks. Suddenly Jemma's eyes opened and she then realised what the hell she was doing.

"Ack!" Jemma jumped back, dropping the letter on the floor and scratching the back of her neck. "Aww Jeeze. I'm sorry about that." She mumbled. Father Edward straightened himself out before smiling again. Jemma quickly reached down to grab the letter. She placed it back on the desk and scratched her elbow.

"It's all right. One of those _in the moment_ things I take it." Jemma nodded her head quickly. "Yes well. The second thing I want to present you with..." Father Edward paused and handed Jemma the strange box. "I suspect you want to redeem the actions of the oringal _Illumiati_. This may just help you."

Jemma gingerly took the object from Father Edward and opened it. She gasped. "The Discorsi. But I couldn't...." Jemma paused as father Edward shook his head.

"Please. I only ask two things. That it finds its way back to us in one piece and when you write about us, and I know you will, please do so gently." Jemma closed the box and clutched it close to her chest. Father Edward was sure she was tearing up.

"Yes of course. Oh! Thank you so much!"

"You're holiness?"

The duo turned to a second opened door. A swiss guard motioned for Father Edward to enter the second room. "Ah, it seems I have my duties to preform."

"Whoa! Hold the phone!" Father Edward turned back to Jemma. "Are you saying....That you..."

Father Edward nodded his head. "This will be the last time you will see me as just a priest and the _Camerlango_. I being my duty as the new Pope from here on."

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The gorup outside the Papel office jumped when they heard Jemma.

**"WHAT!"**

* * *

_And that my friend's is the end of this story. Thank you to everyone who has left a review!_


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